409: Bunker
by me11
Summary: To the Caymans...danger approaching?...and dealing with Lucas Luthor...
1. Teaser

**Smallville 4.09 – Bunker**

Teaser

"Wow," Pete leaned out of his window eagerly and whistled in approval. The nondescript black car made it's way along the curvy beach side road, a private villa it's destination. Clark peered out of his window too and couldn't help but agree with Pete. It was beautiful there, and the weather was great. The sun shone down with such ferocity that Clark mentally cursed himself for forgetting his sunglasses.

Chloe was also peering out of her window eagerly, a full watt smile spread across her face. "It's so beautiful here," she said breathily, unable to tear her attention away from the exotic looking trees and birds long enough to look at the others nod in approval.

"Yes Toto," Lucas ruffled her hair obnoxiously and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. "We're definitely not in –"

"Don't," Lex rolled his eyes at the cliché. "And put those away, you'll pollute the clean air here."

"And my lungs," Chloe muttered, flattening her hair back down. Lucas rolled his eyes but put the cigarettes away. He sat back in his seat and practically pouted the rest of the way. Clark bit back the sarcastic remarks that came to mind and resigned to just enjoy the trip.

Thirty minutes later the car turned off of the winding road and onto a long lane. They all watched eagerly, even Lex (though he tried to hide it), waiting for the villa to appear.

Clark felt himself grin when they laid eyes on the villa; it was much bigger than he thought it would be, with numerous large windows and a burnt orange terra roof. Legions of trees and plants surrounded the property, secluding it from the main road, and a wrought iron gate closed behind the car as they pulled into the parking lot.

As soon as the car stopped they piled out into the driveway and stared up at the villa with identical grins on their faces...though Lucas and Lex smirked more than grinned. Clark tried to help the driver with the bags but the driver shook his head and gestured for Clark to join the others.

"Do we have a key?" Pete asked, trying to peer in through the glass windows on the door.

"Should be unlocked," Chloe reached out and tried the doorknob, pushing the door open easily. Chloe and Lex walked in first, then Lucas and Pete, and Clark brought up the rear, leaving the door open for the driver.

Pete whistled again, and again Clark completely agreed. The place may have looked island chic on the outside, but inside it was absolutely comfortable modern. There were no walls separating the kitchen, living room and dining room; instead it was a wide-open space, complete with a gigantic skylight that covered most of the room. Comfy looking leather furniture adorned the living room, plus a large, wide screen TV.

"Good designer out here in the Caribbean," Pete clapped Clark on the shoulder and hurried further into the room to explore, Lucas hot on his heels.

"Well, no ever said that Daddy Luthor didn't have good taste...aesthetically anyway," Chloe shrugged.

"What?" Lex frowned at her and Chloe grinned again, a little wickedly this time.

"That was part of the surprise," she informed Lex. Clark couldn't help but nod eagerly; that had actually been his favorite part. "I didn't rent this villa. It was Lionel's."

"My father's never been to the Cayman Islands," Lex shook his head.

"He must have had plans to," Chloe shrugged. "Because this property turned up in the search that I did on him last year. He didn't report it to Uncle Sam of course, so it was probably a backup in case something went wrong...he didn't think it prudent to mention it to you I guess."

"And now here you are, making use of his private getaway," Clark finished for her.

"Love the irony," Lex nodded appreciatively.

"Hey guys! Come check out the beach!" Pete called out eagerly from where he was pulling open a set of French doors, leading them out onto a back patio. They followed him and Chloe let out a squeal of delight when they saw the beach.

Lucas was already making his way across the sand to the water, his shoes deposited on the patio. Chloe kicked off her sandals too and grabbed Lex's arm, pulling him along behind her and joining Lucas.

"Glad you came?" Clark asked Pete. He let his gaze wander around the kaleidoscope of colors; the startlingly blue water, the shockingly green trees, the intensely yellow sun...

"Oh yeah," Pete nodded, laughing at Chloe and Lucas kicking sheets of water at each other. "Should we go in?"

Clark shot him a grin and they both stepped out onto the white sand.

_TBC..._


	2. One

**Chapter One**

_A/N: Hey guys. First, I'm really sorry for my lack of updates. I've been super busy with school (University is way harder this year than it was last year) and haven't really been able to find the time. Also, to be completely honest, I'm finding this particular episode really hard to finish; writer's block I guess. I have a general idea for the story line, and I already have the general closer chapter planned out, but I'm having real trouble thinking of "filler" scenes for the chapters (you know, cute couple scenes and bonding scenes to help advance the relationships). So, if anyone has any requests for how they'd like to story to progress, drop me a line (I have a general outcome for the series already, and I'm starting to invest time into the Cooper character, but a little angst and options –namely for Chloe—never hurt anyone). I promise you that I read every review that is submitted._

_I think you'll all be surprised with what happens in chapter two, you'll notice that I left the end of this one as kind of a vague/cliffhanger sort of deal. Despite my problems with this Episode, I've already planned out a few cool ideas for future episodes (Spoilers will be included at the bottom of this update for those who want to read them). _

_Please enjoy, and be kind, review. :0)_

Lex fingered the smoothed edge of a silver picture frame and sighed. 'This was obviously Dad's room,' he mused, dropping his bag—that Chloe had packed for him—onto the bed and looking around the master bedroom that he'd claimed. Pretty standard looking, much like an upscale hotel room, but the pine dresser was adorned with a series of framed photographs. Family photographs.

Never in his life had Lex seen a room of his father's adorned with something as simple as a family photograph. No, he'd only seen professional oil paintings; sleek colors and paint lines the only thing that ever captured the image of the Luthor family, besides the routine media pictures. But apparently Lionel Luthor had planned on staying at the villa one day, and judging from the keepsake memorabilia displayed across the dresser, he'd planned an extended (if not permanent) stay.

Chloe had told him that there were four bedrooms—Clark and Pete consented to share—and Lex had to wonder if the other rooms contained any other personal articles. There was a knock on his door. "Come in," he turned away from the frames, not wanting to be caught looking at them, lest they think he was getting nostalgic. He _really_ wasn't.

Chloe pushed his door open and stepped in tentatively, giving him an unusually nervous smile. "Hi," she greeted him, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her.

"Chloe," Lex nodded in return, a little amused by her fidgeting. He noted that she'd already changed into a skirt and a tank top and was now looking around his room curiously.

"Nice...it looks like a hotel actually," she grinned.

"I was just thinking that," Lex laughed out loud but mentally pleaded with whatever higher power that she wouldn't see—

"Oh! Pictures," she hurried over to the dresser to take a look. "I don't have any pictures in my room."

"I'm assuming that this was to be my father's room," Lex sat down on the corner of the bed while she picked up the same frame that he'd just been looking at. The bed was actually pretty comfortable.

"Probably," Chloe nodded absently, her gaze focused heavily on the photo in her hand. "Is this you?"

"Yes."

"Wow...you looked so..." she trailed off, not quite knowing what word she was looking for.

"Different?" Lex supplied sarcastically, remembering the picture of a smiling Lillian Luthor with her arms wrapped around her smiling seven-year-old son's shoulders. He ran a hand over his bald scalp, his only nervous habit, and wished she would just put the picture down.

"Happy," Chloe corrected. "You looked so happy...so did she."

"She was medicated," Lex got up and peered curiously over her shoulder now, resting a hand on her elbow, and trying to see if he could see what she did. "And of course I was happy, I was seven and rich."

"She was still happy," Chloe insisted, handing him the picture. "I can see it...can't you?" Lex stared intently at the picture, taking in the curve of his mother's cheek and the way her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the top of seven-year-old-Lex's vibrant red hair.

He could see it.

Chloe browsed through the rest of the pictures, finally picking up another frame. "Oh my God, is that..."

"Lucas," Lex nodded in conformation, setting down the picture of him and his mother and joining her in inspecting the picture of the young boy with sandy blonde hair.

"Huh," Chloe shrugged. "He was cute...he must dye his hair now." Lex smirked; Lucas's hair was much darker now. He supposed maybe the dark hair looked better with all of the leather that Lucas had taken to wearing in the last few years. "Is that you?" she asked him, pointing now to a picture of Lionel holding a swaddled baby and smirking proudly into the camera.

"No," Lex replied dully, hating the expression on his father's face. Chloe frowned slightly but when she picked up the picture beside it, Lex holding the same baby, realization visibly dawned on her. "That's..."

"Julian," she finished with a nod. It was strange hearing her, anyone, say his brother's name. Lex never talked about his youngest brother if he could help it. Of course Chloe would know about him though; she was there when he had his breakdown after all, and she had kept a file on him as thick as the Encyclopedia Britannica. He was almost glad that she knew the story, because he wouldn't have to explain what had happened. It was only fair, he supposed, because he knew about her losses in life...why shouldn't she know about his. It wasn't as if she was just a casual acquaintance anymore. "How much older were you?"

"I was eleven when he was born," Lex said quietly, tearing his eyes away from the sight of him and his baby brother together. He was done with this conversation now. "Where are the others?"

Chloe stiffened slightly but put the frame back down, seemingly accepting his change in topic. "They're waiting for us in the living room," she told him, a smile spreading across her face. "I've been sent in here to tell you to hurry up and change so we can all go down to the beach." She looked up at him hopefully and then bit her lip. "If you want to that is...I mean, it is _your_ birthday after all. What do _you_ want to do?"

Lex smiled genuinely now, pushing all thoughts of Julian, Lionel and Lillian aside for a while, choosing instead to focus on what Chloe was saying to him. "The beach sounds fine. I assume you packed me a suit."

Chloe beamed. "I packed three...I didn't know if you'd appreciate my taste in clothes,"   
she admitted. "Not when it comes to dressing _you_ anyways."

"You have excellent taste, Chloe," he assured her, holding the door open for her to slip out of the room while he changed.

"Sure I do," she rolled her eyes. "Tell that to the rag-tag group that I assembled for this trip...if they don't kill each other that is."

A sound of protest echoed from the living room and they both smirked, realizing that Pete had heard them. Lex closed the door behind her and quickly searched his bag for a bathing suit. Relaxing on the beach was just what he needed.

* * *

Pete sighed dramatically and took a deep breath, the scent of salt water and warm evening air flowing over him. The beach looked just as beautiful at night, and the water seemed to glow in the moonlight. "Where's Chloe?" he turned to Clark and Lucas.

Clark shrugged and Lucas smirked. "She's waiting for Lex to make himself a drink," Lucas rolled his eyes. "I hope she hurries though, I wanna swim."

"No one's stopping you," Clark muttered and Lucas just ignored him.

"Maybe we could stay here for an extra week," Pete suggested hopefully, toeing off his sandals and spreading a towel out on the sand in front of him. Lucas mirrored his actions but Clark frowned.

"My parents would kill me if I missed more than one day of school," Clark said wearily, kicking off his own shoes. Pete nodded in agreement; his mother would kill him too.

Chloe and Lex finally made their way out, a tray holding five drinks balanced precariously in Chloe's hands and Lex carrying two towels. "Hey guys," she greeted them with a grin. "I brought you drinks."

Pete and Lucas reached eagerly for a glass. Clark frowned and took one tentatively. "Chloe is there alcohol in this?" he asked, sounding frighteningly like Jonathan Kent. Chloe just blinked at him and Lex hid a smirk; Lucas didn't even try to hide his snicker.

"Don't worry Clark," she assured him patiently. "The drinking age in the Cayman Islands is seventeen." Pete took a large gulp of his drink, lime margarita, and licked some of the salt off of the rim.

"Not bad Chlo," he praised, finishing off the drink in record time, earning a look of approval from Lucas.

"Are there any girls around here?" Lucas asked, looking around and trying to peer through the trees in the dark. Lex groaned and sat down on his towel, Clark doing the same.

"Chloe's a girl," Clark replied, taking a tentative sip of his drink. Lucas shook his head.

"You noticed that did you?" Chloe snarked. Clark blushed.

"She's not _that_ kind of girl," Lucas muttered.

"What kind of girl would that be?" Chloe demanded.

"Do you want to go skinny dipping?" Lucas smirked. Pete turned his head between them eagerly, like he was watching tennis... except this was interesting. He was hoping for a little Luthor smack down.

"Sure," Chloe shrugged, ignoring the raised eyebrows from Lex and the jaw dropping from Clark. Pete just grinned in anticipation.

"Yeah?" Lucas questioned, a little surprised, and let his eyes rake appreciatively over her body.

"Well, not with _you_ of course," she clarified snarkily, polishing off her drink as well. Lucas huffed in annoyance.

"Then I go back to my original question: are there any girls around here?"

"No Lucas," she said slowly, as if he were, well, slow. "This is a private villa. There are twenty acres of fenced off land surrounding us. Do you really think that _that_ kind of girl would be smart enough to sneak in here?"

"You'd be surprised what that kind of girl can get into if she's looking to—"

"Lucas?" Lex interrupted. "Why don't you go for a swim? I'm sure the water's great."

Lucas polished off his drink with one huge sip. "Whatever you say...bro," he smiled phonily and stalked off towards the water, leaving his glass beside Pete's.

Once he was gone Clark shifted uncomfortably. "So Chloe..."

"No Clark," she rolled her eyes, and removed her tank top, revealing the white bikini top underneath. "Not with you either." Clark blushed violently.

"I wasn't—I didn't mean—"he stammered, jumping quickly to his feet. "I think I'll join Lucas, you know...make sure he doesn't get lost." Clark took off in a flash, well not a literal flash, because Lex and Chloe were watching, but he took off quickly anyways.

Pete jumped to his feet too. "Does anyone else feel like a swim?" he asked eagerly, really wanting to go. The water was insanely tempting but he didn't want to disappear like Lucas and Clark, since it _was_ Lex's party and all. Not that the guy really required people to hang around him or anything, but still.

Lex shrugged and Chloe let out a happy squeal. She quickly shimmied out of her shorts and reached down to pull Lex up off of the ground. Once he'd regained his footing she took both him and Pete by the hand and forcefully led them towards the water. "You know Chlo," Pete laughed at her eagerness and eyed her white suit. "We don't have to join Clark and Lucas. I'm willing to suffer through seeing Luthor naked if you do it too."

Chloe rolled her eyes and Lex snorted. "Maybe tomorrow Pete."

* * *

Chloe woke up the next day to the sound of annoying tropical birds singing, and incredibly bright sun shining in her eyes. "So this is morning in the Caribbean," she muttered, getting tangled in her sheets and rolling out of bed, landing roughly on the ground. "Ouch," she stood up and got a beam of sun straight into her eyes. "Double ouch. I need coffee."

Feet dragging, she made her way to the bedroom door, bumping into every piece of furniture along the way, and trudged down the blissfully dark hallway to the sun-filled kitchen area. Lex and Clark were already awake, both sitting at the counter sipping coffees. "Morning Chloe," Clark greeted her with a toothy grin, wide-awake and bushy tailed. Lex nodded at her, knowing better than to speak to her before she had at least two cups.

She grunted out something that slightly resembled hello and quickly poured herself a cup of coffee. Clark watched in surprise when she gulped the first mug full down in two sips, completely ignoring the scalding temperature. She poured a second glass and then took the seat across from Lex, sipping her coffee slower this time. The caffeine was beginning to work it's magic.

"What time is it?" she asked them, moving her lips away from the rim of her mug just long enough to ask.

"Eight o'clock Smallville time," Lex replied. "Nine o'clock here."

"Urgh," she muttered, finishing off her second mug and pouring herself a third. She actually felt half awake now.

"So," Clark eyed her coffee cup wearily as she began to gulp yet another cup down. "What are we doing today?"

"Nothing," Chloe told him. "That's the whole point of this trip. We're just supposed to lie around, go swimming, snorkeling...anything, as long as it keeps Lex away from his briefcase it's all good."

Lex rolled his eyes but Clark nodded that he understood. "You're supposed to get more pleasant after your second cup," Lex pointed out with a smirk. "What happened?"

"Jet lag," Chloe added flippantly and polished off her third cup, this time hopping up and putting the mug in the sink instead of refilling it. "I'm going to go shower." She trudged her way back to her room, ignoring the chuckling from the kitchen. She met Lucas in the hallway. He looked about as awake as she had, and his hair was rumpled, sticking up in various directions and making him look a bit more adorable than she would have normally admitted. He caught her gaze and rubbed at his eyes. "Clark and Lex are up," she warned him. "And they're _wide_ awake."

Lucas groaned and continued on his way to the kitchen. Just as she was closing her bedroom door she heard him mutter: "I _hate_ morning people."

She totally agreed.

* * *

Lucas checked out his reflection in the mirror and smirked. His hair looked good...clothes good...teeth good. If there were no other girls on that part of the island he would just have to spend his day hitting on Chloe. She was hot, and he loved the annoyed looks that Clark, Pete and even Lex, donned when he did so. Of course, when Chloe got mad, she got feisty...he liked _that_ a lot too.

Confident in his ability to sway her, Lucas left his bedroom with the usual swagger in his walk. He arrived in the main room to see that Chloe and Pete had joined the others when he was in the shower. Pete still looked half asleep, but Chloe was clearly well on her way to becoming caffeinated, bouncing slightly on her stool as they laughed at something Clark was saying. Before Lucas could call out a planned, and obnoxious, greeting, the doorbell rang.

He was the closest to the door, by far, but made a point of sighing loud enough so that they all heard him before he answered it. Lucas didn't bother hiding his skeptical look when he opened the door to a dreadlock sporting, surfer wannabe. "Yeah?"

The guy nodded at him, his greasy dreads bobbing as he did, and rubbing against the shoulders of his open Hawaiian print t-shirt. "Hey man," the guy greeted in a definitely American accent, sounding more than a little stoned. "I'm lookin' for, uh..." he checked a clipboard in his hand. "Chloe. Is she here man?"

Lucas blinked at him once and then stepped out of the way, letting the guy come in. "Gidget!" he called towards the kitchen area, ignoring the delivery guy and sitting in the empty chair beside Lex. "It's for you."

Chloe shot him a dirty look before hurrying over to the door, greeting the guy eagerly with a flirty grin. They discussed something quietly while Lucas poured himself another cup of coffee.

"Clark?" Chloe called from the doorway a few minutes later. They all turned to her curiously, and Clark gave her a goofy looking smile. "Can you give me a hand...please?" She cocked her head to the side and returned his smile.

Lucas had never seen Clark move so fast, and that was really saying something. Once Chloe and Clark had followed the guy out of the villa, Lucas turned to Lex and Pete with a smirk. "Boy I had that all wrong," he sipped his coffee nonchalantly. "Here I thought that it was Lex and Chloe who were fuc—"

"Shut up man," Pete cut him off, punching him in the arm. Hard...Lucas struggled not to flinch, and hit Pete back.

"Oh, hit a nerve," Lucas taunted, ignoring the glare from his brother. "I'm just saying that Clark seems pretty eager to please these days. At least his taste has improved, last time I saw him he was all over that Lana chick...talk about a housewife in training. She—"

"Lucas," Lex rolled his eyes, polishing off his coffee. "How about we quit with the Lana bashing...at least until she's here to defend herself."

"She's coming?" Pete asked eagerly...and Lucas scowled.

"No," Lex shook his head, to Pete's disappointment and Lucas's relief. "But it's not fair to badmouth her just because she's not around."

"To be fair, I would badmouth her even if she was around," Lucas shrugged.

"Man, shut up!" Pete sighed, apparently fed up at the conversation. "Just...lay off of Chloe and Lana, would you?"

Lucas shrugged and let it go, deciding that it was just as fun to curse Lana Lang mentally as it was to do so verbally. He noticed a pile of disposable cameras sitting in front of Chloe's stool. "What are these for?" Lucas asked, picking up one of the five cameras and fingering the thick, clear plastic covers.

"Chloe brought one for each of us," Pete explained, picking up a camera as well. "In case we want to take pictures. They're supposed to be waterproof." Lucas nodded and set his camera down in front of him, not really wanting to admit that he wouldn't mind taking a few pictures of the beach.

Chloe and Clark were coming back now; they could be heard just outside the doorway, talking to the delivery guy. "Just put them out back, on the beach," Chloe's voice was just loud enough to make out. "Thanks."

Lex, Lucas and Pete looked up curiously when Chloe came back into the villa, a pink and white surfboard in her hands. Clark followed behind her, four boards piled in his arms, and trying not to knock anything over on his trip to join the others. "We've got surfboards!" Pete grinned and hopped off of his stool, grabbing one of the boards off of Clark's pile and almost upsetting the rest of them. "Sorry Clark." Clark managed to steady the boards and Pete slung an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "Good idea."

"Surfing?" Lucas frowned at the idea. "Honestly guys, I'm not just trying to piss you off, but I'm not sure if surfing is really my thing."

"That's okay," Chloe assured him, a lot more friendly than he'd expected. "That's why I got the Jet Ski's too."

"Jet Ski's?" Pete echoed, looking even more excited than he had about the surfboards.

"Danny's bringing them around to the beach right now," Chloe grinned.

"Who?"

"The delivery guy," Clark clarified, carefully leaning the surfboards against the breakfast island.

"Well," Lucas finished off his coffee and stood up, setting his mug in the sink. "What are we waiting for?"

* * *

Clark Kent was not meant to surf. It didn't take them long to figure that out. After what felt like his one-hundredth wipeout, Clark decided to retire the surfboard and joined Lucas, taking the second Jet Ski. He zoomed around the curves of the beach, able to peer through the clear water and see the colorful fish and the reefs.

After spinning a few circles in the water, Clark shut off the engine and watched as the waves made their way over to where Lex, Chloe and Pete were trying to pick up surfing. They were doing much better than he was...well okay, Chloe wasn't, but she was still trying. Lucas pulled up beside him, shut off his own engine, and the two of them watched silently as Lex and Pete tried to explain to Chloe that she wasn't jumping up fast enough.

"Do you think she'll get it?" Lucas asked, wincing as Chloe's board slipped out from under her and she hit the water; Clark took a picture with his camera. He smirked when she resurfaced and splashed a wave of water at Pete, who was laughing openly.

"Yes," Clark replied loyally. Lucas raised his eyebrows at that and Clark sighed. "No," he admitted. They both chuckled softly and continued to watch as Pete managed to catch a particularly large wave and ride it until he was almost at the shore. They cheered loudly for him, and Clark snapped another picture.

"Let's go," Lucas called over his engine as it roared back to life. Clark restarted his Jet Ski too and they rode over to where Lex and Chloe were still floating, several feet out into the water. "Need a ride back?" Lucas called out to them, coming to stop beside Chloe.

She nodded and accepted his hand gratefully, allowing him to pull her up and onto the seat behind him, and wrapping her arms around his torso. Clark fished her board out of the water and secured it to the back of his machine. "What about you?" he asked Lex while Lucas and Chloe drove away, headed for shore.

"No thanks," Lex eyed a large wave coming up behind him. "I've got it." Clark grinned and Lex set off paddling, jumping up and catching the wave, and riding it almost to the shore as Pete had done. Clark took yet another picture and then zoomed after him.

* * *

"I don't like surfing very much," Chloe muttered pitifully, unwinding her arms from around Lucas and climbing off of the Jet Ski. Lucas smirked at her and Pete waded his way through the shallow water, slinging an arm sympathetically around her shoulders.

"Don't worry Chloe," he tried to reassure her. "You did fine." To annoy her farther, Lex chose that moment to glide gracefully up to them on his surfboard. He hopped off and picked the board up under his arm, noticing her scowl.

"What?" he asked. Chloe let out another pitiful moan. Why did he have to be good at _everything_? It wasn't fair.

Clark zoomed up beside them now on his own Jet Ski and parked it securely on the sand. "Now what?" he asked with a toothy grin. He noticed the sulky look on Chloe's face. "What's wrong?"

"Chloe's upset because she's a horrible surfer," Lucas tattled, parking his Jet Ski beside Clark's.

"Shut up," Chloe cried defensively. "I wasn't horrible...not really."

"You weren't good," Lucas pointed out.

"At least she tried," Clark cut in, just as defensive. "Don't worry Chlo, I wasn't any good at it either."

"That makes me feel better," Chloe deadpanned, flopping down onto a towel and slipping her sunglasses on, a clear sign that the conversation was over. Pete sat down on the towel beside her.

"So, what should we do now?" Pete asked, looking up at the others and holding his hand in front of his eyes, blocking out some of the sun. Lucas shrugged and took a seat as well, on the towel on Chloe's other side. Lex moved to his own towel and Clark sighed.

"Well, it looks like we're going to lay around in the sun," he remarked, sounding bored at the idea.

"I'm kind of hungry," Chloe looked up at him with her sweetest smile. "You could go and make us lunch."

"You want me to make you lunch?" Clark repeated, unbelieving.

"Sure...since you're bored," Chloe shrugged, sure to flash her very best puppy eyes at him.

"Well...what do you want?" Clark asked her finally. Chloe was a little surprised that he'd offered, but found that she liked being able to boss Clark Kent around. The idea made her a little giddy and gave her a weird sense of pride.

"Are there any pomegranates?" she asked hopefully. Clark shrugged.

"I'll check," with that he was off. Chloe smirked openly and then noticed the disgusted look on Lucas's face, and the bemused one on Pete's. Lex just slipped his glasses on and crossed his arms behind his head, lying back on his towel.

"What?" she asked Lucas defensively, lying back down. "He said that he was bored." Lucas just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Clark had indeed found her some pomegranates...and some mangos, and some grapes, and some kiwi. He brought her back a plate filled with the different types of fruit, and a cold bottle of water. Chloe had smiled at him again and taken the plate, happily munching on the fruit.

He didn't know why he was letting her boss him around...and for some reason he didn't care. Chloe had always been a little pushy, but she had never flat out made him do things before. He was embarrassed to admit that he kind of liked it; he enjoyed her take-charge attitude, and the way she managed to smile, eyes twinkling, in a way that made his heart flutter slightly. In a way that even Lana never caused.

"Thanks Clark," she patted the towel beside her and he sat down quickly. Around him, the others were wearing barely concealed expressions of ridicule, but again he didn't care. "Do you want some?"

"Huh?" Clark asked, sputtering ridiculously. Did he want some what?

"Do you want some?" she asked again, gesturing to the plate of fruit and raising her eyebrows at him.

"Uh, no...no thanks," Clark blushed, hating himself a little bit for even thinking—

"Hey Chloe," Lucas leaned over. "I'll have some." Clark was pretty sure that the littlest Luthor _wasn't_ talking about fruit...at least not mangos and pomegranates. Chloe shrugged and held the plate out for him. Lucas shot Clark a very pointed look and then picked up a cluster of grapes.

"Lex? Pete?" Chloe offered to the others, who shook their heads. "More for me," she grinned and picked up some of the pomegranate seeds. Clark ignored Lucas now and found himself concentrating on the way the pomegranate seemed to stain her fingertips red, and the way she methodically sucked the remaining juices off of her red fingers.

He was transfixed, watching the way her tongue darted out...the beads of sun catching water dripping from her hair, down her back...the white sand clinging to her skin...the dusting of freckles down the curve of her shoulders...

A familiar burning sensation hit suddenly and Clark managed to snap his eyes shut just in time. The feeling didn't go away immediately, as it usually did, and he kept his eyes squeezed together, too afraid to open them. "Clark?" Lex asked sounding concerned when Clark began rubbing his fingers over his closed eyes, hoping to make it go away.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Pete's voice sounded just as worried...though he was probably worried because he knew what had happened the last time that Clark had behaved like that.

"Yeah...I just..." the burning feeling was beginning to fade...and then he felt a hand on his arm. Soft and small, stroking his forearm gently, making his skin tingle all over...it had to be Chloe. The sensation in his eyes burned harder again and he climbed shakily to his feet, having difficulty with his eyes closed. "I think I got sand in them or something," he lied.

He could hear someone else climb to his or her feet and then felt a sturdy hand on his back. "I'll give you a hand," Pete said from directly beside him. "Maybe you can wash them out in the bathroom."

"Do you want me to—"

"No!" Pete cut Chloe off quickly, and Clark was sure that he was flashing her an apologetic grin to make up for it. "I've got it. We'll be right back."

Clark nodded in agreement and gratefully allowed Pete to lead him into the villa and down the hallway towards the bathroom. He stood leaning against the door until the burning feeling left and tentatively opened his eyes. When no fire shot out, Clark turned to Pete, who was sitting on the edge of the bathtub watching him in concern. "It's okay," Clark told him, turning the cold-water tap on and splashing his face with it.

"What happened out there?" Pete demanded, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's been almost two years since you lost control of your heat vision."

"I don't know," Clark admitted, turning the tap off and leaning against the wall again. "It was really strange...I knew it was coming but I couldn't stop it. Just when I thought it would go away..."

"It was Chloe wasn't it?" Pete realized with a laugh. Clark felt his cheeks blush and he averted his gaze. "Oh man! You're in trouble now if you start setting things on fire every time Chloe wears a bathing suit."

Clark didn't answer but he knew that Pete was right. He couldn't start to avoid Chloe, but he had to make sure that she, or anyone else, was never hurt by his abilities. What was he supposed to do now?

* * *

The large white van pulled slowly into a large, abandoned building on the outskirts of town, parking amongst the myriad of half assembled cars and various motorcycle parts. The driver jumped out and walked down the side of the van, reaching up and pulling the magnetic "Joni's Surf Rentals" sign off, and then walking around to the passenger side and repeating the action.

"Danny," his boss came up behind him and accepted the signs in Danny's outstretched hands.

"Hey boss," Danny flipped one of the longer dreadlocks out of his face and returned his boss's (Jace) inquisitive look.

"Well?" Jace demanded impatiently after they'd stared at each other for a moment. "Did you go to the Luthor villa or not?"

"I did," Danny shrugged, his long legs leading the way to where a coffee pot was sitting on a desk in the corner. He poured himself a cup.

"What did you find out?" Jace asked slowly, as if he were in some way mentally deficient.

"He's there," Danny nodded in confirmation. The pleased smirk that spread onto his boss's face was a little frightening.

"What else did you get?" Jace demanded.

"The girl said that they're here 'til Monday," Danny continued, sprawling back on the old, worn, brown couch in the makeshift office.

"How many people?"

"Him, the girl, and three others," Danny confirmed the information that they'd been fed from the airport. "No guards, but there is a locked main gate. Wrought iron."

"How did you get in?"

"The girl knew I was coming," Danny explained. "She left it open."

"Wrought iron, huh?" Jace slumped down beside him. From the pensive look on his face he was thinking up a plan. "Security cameras?"

"Nope," Danny shook his head, dreadlocks flying.

"Good," Jace hopped up again and this time made his way over to a small, rickety table where a large blueprint was spread out, it's corners held down by spools of electrical tape and a large bolt. Danny followed.

"So," Danny finished off the last of his coffee, peering down at the blueprints. The top of the sheet had the words "Luthor (Private/Secured)" scrawled on it in a white china pencil and in Jace's messy scrawl. "Are we gonna do it Monday then?"

"No," Jace shook his head and grabbed the afore-mentioned china pencil. He began marking large X's on the blueprint, on the weakest security areas surrounding the villa. "We're going tonight."

"What?" Danny scoffed. "But that doesn't give us much time. The guys won't be ready."

"They'll be ready," Jace assured him.

"But they're expecting us on Monday anyways," Danny insisted. "I'm supposed to pick up the boards then...the gate's will be open."

"You know Dan, for a hired goon you don't know much about stealth," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Stealth isn't really necessary when you have a bunch of guns, _boss_," Danny muttered, insulted.

"Yeah well, guns or no guns, we can't wait 'til Monday," Jace continued making X's on the blueprint, positioning his crew for the evening. "Benny called when you were gone. It's been moved to Monday morning...we have to do it tonight. It could take a while to get the info we need. He's been known to clam up when people are looking for something."

"Whatever you say," Danny shrugged again and wandered off to find a donut or something to eat.

"Call the guys Dan," Jace called over his shoulder. "Tell them that we go tonight at midnight."

TBC...

* * *

AS PROMISED...SPOILERS FOR UPCOMING EPISODES...

_4.10: Halloween episode...a little Lex-messing...a will be back...well, you know how weddings in Smallville tend to turn out..._

_4.11: Probably a little Lucas time here, I like to use him to contrast the family that Lex had always desired, and the progress that they make to become closer...how Chloe fits in...probably a Thanksgiving episode (someone from the US please let me know WHEN you guys celebrate Thanksgiving because we don't do it at the same time)..._

_4.12: A Christmas one (as you can see I'm big into the holidays right now)...we're going to find out more about (the shadier aspects of) the Torch's new editor...Chloe's going to get a SUPER gift from Clark..._

_4.Unknown: This one is still tentative, because it would have some really controversial themes in it, so I'm a little hesitant about writing it. I've done the teaser chapter already, just to get the idea down on paper before I loose it. Basically it starts off in the teaser with Lex and Chloe waking up together in his bed...with absolutely no memory of how it happened...and the rest of the episode will be sort of a backtrack to find out what happened, and who was behind it. I think this one will be near the end of the series, because I wanted them to have a very strong bond at this point, and then give them a lot of angst in trying to overcome the situation, and building up the trust again. I'm totally willing to take suggestions here, so please let me know what you think. As a general rule, I'm totally opposed to rape fics, and I won't write them (though there are fine lines which I am willing to teeter near). Also, I don't want to totally destroy my characters or the storyline that I've spent so long building. So, mail away. :0)_


	3. Two

**Chapter 2**

_A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update, I actually did try to post this chapter earlier this week, but the site was doing upgrades--or something-- and I couldn't post. I'm working on Chapter3 now...leaves you with a bit of a cliff hanger (jsut a little one though). Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :0)_

It had been a while since he could remember relaxing anywhere, let alone on a beautiful Caribbean beach. But there he was, stretched out on a beach towel, arms crossed behind his head, toes in the sand, and a generous amount of SPF 35 on his head…a bald scalp burnt surprisingly quickly. He'd learned that at a very young age.

At that point, Lex Luthor was thinking that life was just about perfect, at least there at the beach. That was until –of course—a dark shadow covered a part of his towel, blocking the sun, and arising that familiar, annoyed feeling within him.

"You're in my light," Lex remarked dryly, not needing to open his eyes to know that his brother was smirking. He opened them anyway.

Beside him, Lucas sat down on another towel and mimicked his position, reclining and crossing his arms behind his head. "So big brother," he returned in the same dry and sarcastic tone that Lex had used. "You never did tell me what you wanted for your birthday."

Lex smirked. "I thought I had told you that I only want world peace."

"Yeah well," Lucas pulled an envelope out of the pocket in his swim trunks and held it out. Once Lex had taken the proffered envelope, Lucas climbed back to his feet. "They were all out of that. Happy Birthday."

Lex waited until his brother had wandered back into the villa before he sat up and looked inside. He tipped the envelope upside down.

A pair of keys landed in his hand.

* * *

Chloe sat silently on the steps of the deck, watching the sun make it's decent over the horizon, staining the water with various shades of pinks and oranges. The birds and crickets around the villa made gentle chirping noises, punctuated only by the occasional muffled cheer from inside the villa.

She rolled her eyes at the latest out-burst, Pete's voice echoing the loudest of them all, and couldn't help but grin. "Stupid boys," she muttered, picking up a rock and throwing it as hard as she could towards the water. It only made it halfway down the beach. "Stupid…toys."

They had been playing with Pete's Play Station for the last hour now, and she had long since grown tired of pretending to be entertained by it. Chloe sat for a few more minutes, trying to enjoy the sunset, her fingers tapping a sporadic pattern on her knees…before she gave up and admitted to herself that she was bored out of her mind.

When she went back into the villa she had to roll her eyes again at the sight in front of her. Lex and Pete were deeply immersed in some kind of fighting game, both of them punching manically at various buttons, and doing their best to ignore the 'helpful' comments that Clark kept yelling. Lucas was leaning against the couch sulking…he'd probably just lost or something.

"Guys?" Chloe asked, trying really hard to keep the whine out of her voice, and hoping up onto the kitchen island.

"What's up Chlo?" Pete asked, never tearing his eyes away from the game. "Oh…no you don't…"

"This sucks, seriously…we're on the Cayman Islands and you're playing Mortal Combat?" she pointed out.

"It's not Mortal Combat, Chloe," Clark corrected her, looking scandalized. Lex shook his head. "It's Mega Bloodbath Street—"

"Whatever," she cut him off with a sigh. "I'm going for a walk." They didn't answer and she frowned. "Outside…just so you know…in case you were wondering…"

"That's great Chloe," Lex replied absently, stabbing one of the buttons continuously. "Ha!"

"Hey!" Pete cried out.

It was all she could do to hold back the annoyed scream that was bubbling up in her throat. Instead she hopped down from off of the counter and made her way back out the door she'd entered through, closing it behind her with a little more force than necessary. Completely aware that she was sulking like a whiney child, but not actually caring now because they couldn't see or hear her, she made a point of stomping across the deck and kicking a beach ball that was resting against the steps. The ball flew into a patch of trees, giving her an unusual sense of self-satisfaction.

"Stupid boys!" she repeated again, a little less bitterly this time.

"Ouch," the annoyingly familiar, dry cutting voice said from behind her. Chloe spun around just in time to see Lucas close the patio doors behind him and send her a wry, cocky smirk.

"Speaking of—"

"Watch it," he warned. "Or I may just decide not to come with you after all."

Hundreds of snarky comebacks were on the tip of her tongue, but she held them back. After all, she _had_ just been inside, pitifully hoping for someone to give up the videogames and keep her company. Lucas wasn't her first choice (or her second, or even her third), but he was better than talking to the annoyed voice in her head….well, hopefully…

She returned his smirk quickly and then began walking towards the water, Lucas falling into step beside her. Neither of them spoke, not really having anything nice to say to each other. They walked down the beach, following the curve of the ocean, for a while longer, still in silence. Finally Chloe grew restless again and couldn't quite help the sigh that she let out. Lucas looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"So," she tried to start up a conversation.

"Yeah, we don't have to talk, okay?" he wasn't really asking though. Chloe didn't like that, being ordered around.

"You don't have to," she returned. "Which is fine, I could do with _you_ not talking."

"Is that right?"

She didn't like the way that every word out of his mouth always seemed to be mocking someone or something; this time it was her. "Yes, that's right," she insisted, hitting her stride now and getting on a good tirade. "In fact I—"

"Wait, shhh," Lucas stopped walking suddenly and peered intently into the trees.

"What? Do not shhh me—"

"Be quiet," Lucas pressed a surprisingly warm hand over her mouth until she stopped trying to talk. "Listen."

"Listen for what?" she batted his hand away angrily, sending him a mutinous glare. "I don't hear anything…well, besides your constant yapping—"

"It's water," he ignored her and smirked in realization.

"Uh, yeah!" she gestured grandly to the huge ocean only a few feet from them.

"No, it's running water," Lucas rolled his eyes. Chloe opened her mouth to retort again but he was already making a beeline for the thick scatter of trees.

"Hey!" she hurried after him, following his lead and ducking under a few lower hanging branches. "Where are you going?"

Lucas didn't answer her, he just kept leading her deeper and deeper into the brush. Eventually they reached what pretty much resembled a trail, and followed it. Chloe could now make out the sound of running water, growing louder and louder the farther that they walked, and now completely drowning out the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Finally, Lucas pushed away a final low branch and over his shoulder Chloe could see what looked like a clearing. She followed him into the clearing and came to stand beside him, letting out a gasp at the sight in front of her.

"I knew I heard something," he cried, the sound of running water now drowning out almost everything else.

In front of them a beautiful waterfall, fed by a nearby river, poured down into a deep lagoon. Their path had ended atop a large rock, with a three-story drop, overlooking the lagoon. Even from that height, Chloe could see through the clear water, and could make out the rocky bottom far below. Around the water there were several more rocks and plants, with bright pink, red and orange flowers blooming in the moonlight. It was beautiful.

"I can't believe this," she cried back, gripping the sleeve of his t-shirt excitedly.

Lucas grinned back. "Wonder what the water's like?" he yelled, taking several steps back, all the way to the low-hanging tree that had obscured the view from the path. Chloe's eyes widened drastically, knowing what he was about to do.

"Lucas!" she yelled, shaking her head. "No—"

But he gave her a quick wink and then took off at a sprint. She felt her mouth drop open as she watched him jump off of the ledge and fall the three story's down into the clear water, luckily missing the jagged rocks surrounding the water. When he resurfaced she kneeled down and peered over the edge at him.

"That wasn't funny Lucas!" she yelled.

"It wasn't supposed to be!" he returned, laughing and pushing strands of wet hair out of his face.

"You could have killed yourself!" she stressed.

"We've all gotta go sometime, Sullivan," he laughed. "But it's nice of you to be concerned."

Chloe felt herself blush. "Don't flatter yourself Luthor," she shot back. "I just wouldn't know how to break the news to Lex, that's all."

"I'm sure you would have figured it out," he smirk grew even cockier (if that was even possible) and it drove her crazy. "Now come on down. The water's great!"

"It's too shallow," Chloe shook her head. She could see him roll his eyes from three story's up.

"It's twelve feet at least," he assured her. She bit her lip, considering it. Lucas gave her an encouraging grin. "Come on, you know you want to…"

Chloe squared her shoulders and climbed back to her feet, mimicking his actions and backing up to the tree. She squeezed her eyes shut quickly and took a deep breath. The next thing that she knew she was off and running, the rock ledge rapidly moving closer and closer. She pushed off of the ledge as hard as she could…

The sudden sensation of falling struck her, making her feel both terrified and exhilarated at the same time. The downward wind caught her hair, making it fly up around her head in a halo, and the breeze was cool against her bare arms.

She felt indescribable freedom as she sailed unassisted through the air, the water below her rapidly approaching. As quickly as it had come, the feeling vanished and she gulped in a large lungful of air, just before she touched down, the water seemingly parting and then encompassing her entire body.

The weightless feeling of being underwater enveloped her, and she kicked her way back to the surface, breaking through and taking in another lungful of air. Chloe pushed the hair away from her face and felt herself returning Lucas's grin. "That was so—" something behind Lucas caught her gaze and her excited cry tapered off abruptly.

Noticing how her eyes widened in shock, Lucas frowned and turned himself around in the water. Chloe's stomach clenched tightly and she vaguely noted that she swam a little closer to the youngest Luthor.

Standing on the rocks above them were three men, dressed all in black, and each sporting a nasty looking, high-powered rifle.

* * *

"Ha ha!" Pete threw his controls to the ground and jumped to his feet. "Go on, say it," he sang out, breaking into a goofy looking dance, as if he'd scored a touchdown. "I'm the king! Come on, admit it; I am the king!"

Clark rolled his eyes and tossed a pillow his way, hitting Pete squarely in the face and muffling his ridiculous chanting. "Yes Pete," Lex drawled lazily, reclining on the couch and catching the pillow as it bounced off of Pete. "You have clearly mastered the art of wasting hours of time on a ridiculous video game."

"You were singing a very different tune a few minutes ago, Luthor," Pete laughed good-naturedly.

"Yeah Lex," Clark grinned hugely. "You can't be good at _everything_."

"I was better than you," Lex reminded him smugly. Clark blushed.

"Who isn't?" Pete joked, flopping down on the couch between them and sighing. "Anyways, where's Lucas? It's his turn to play the winner…which in case you forgot, is me."

"He went outside when you guys were playing," Clark told them, shrugging his broad shoulders while he did. "I think he's harassing Chloe or something. Where are they?"

"Huh," Lex shook his head in amusement. Pete and Clark looked at him curiously and he smirked, elaborating. "When I was eighteen, I went skiing in Switzerland with some friends from boarding school."

"Cool," Pete declared enviously, and Clark nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah," Lex smirked again. "Switzerland is great. But the best part was that I went with four of the other guys from my floor…and Victoria Hardwick." Pete groaned appreciatively, knowing exactly how hot Victoria Hardwick really was. Lex leaned forward on his knees. "But Vicky hated skiing. So when the others insisted on hitting the slopes, I _gallantly_ offered to stay behind and keep her company."

"Sly," Pete grinned. "What happened?" Lex's smirk widened and he chuckled at the expression on Clark's face. "Damn," Pete let out a low whistle and Clark blushed again. They were silent for a moment, and then suddenly three sets of eyes widened. "So, we're going to find Chloe now, right?"

"Yes," Lex and Clark said at the same time. They all climbed to their feet and, tossing aside the game controllers, quickly left the villa via the backdoor. Pete left first, hurrying across the deck and down the steps into the sand. "Hey!" Lex and Clark again said together, this time simultaneously bumping into Pete, who had stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong…" Clark followed Pete's gaze towards the water, seeing the problem immediately.

"We've got trouble guys," Pete told them unnecessarily.

On the shore line two men stood, dressed head to head in black, with facemasks, and each holding a high powered rifle. Lex looked quickly at the armed men and then automatically turned around, preparing to pull the others back into the villa. A third armed man came through the villa, out of the same doors that they'd just exited, and training his own rifle on them.

"No sign of the others," number three said to his associates, who were making their way closer, each with a gun pointed at one of the marks.

Number one shook his head and used his gun barrel to gesture to the patio doors. "Back inside guys," his voice rang out through the cloth of his facecloth, slightly familiar. "No need to scare them off when they come back."

Lex, Clark and Pete shared a look, all thinking the same thing. Lex nodded once at Number one and dutifully led the way back into the villa. As much as he hated it, Lex wasn't going to make a move until they were sure that Lucas and Chloe were safe. They all sat down at the kitchen island and waited, trying to ignore the guns hovering just out of sight of the doorway.

* * *

"Come on girlie," the biggest of the three guys grunted, nudging her in the back with the tip of the gun barrel. Chloe shivered and hurried along. "Move it."

"Don't touch her," Lucas warned him as he moved the barrel towards her again.

"Shut up," one of the others snapped, whacking him hard in the back with the butt of his own rifle. Lucas stifled a scream and bit hard on his lip, pretending that it hadn't hurt at all. Chloe shivered again, her clothes as wet as his own, and caught his gaze. She looked terrified…he would have figured that she'd be used to being held hostage by now.

They finally emerged from the brush and Chloe stumbled over some tree roots, onto the beach. Lucas reached out to help her up but the guy hit him between the shoulder blades again, knocking him onto his knees. "Do that again and Lex will kill you," Chloe snapped confidently, slinging Lucas's arm over her shoulder and helping him up.

"Just keep moving," the third guy, quieter than the others, gestured with his gun. Chloe huffed, beginning to walk again. Lucas would die before he admitted how badly his back was stinging now.

"Could you not point that at me please," Chloe remarked hotly to the closest captor, her snarkiness apparently now returning now that they were out of the close quarters of the trees. "It makes me a little uncomfortable."

"A _little_?" the first guy snorted. "This thing has enough ammo in it to kill you fifty times over, princess."

"So," Chloe rolled her eyes, shivering when the breeze from the water hit her wet skin and moving her hands to rub up and down her arms. "You say that like you're the only loser who's ever tried to take me hostage."

"You get kidnapped often do you?" the third guy asked, sounding almost as curious as he did amused.

"Apparently you have never been to Smallville," Chloe muttered, ignoring him now.

They walked the rest of the way back to the villa in silence, and luckily without any more physical contact from any of the guns. Lucas had felt an uncomfortable feeling of worry, for his brother (and maybe a little for Pete and Clark), when they made their way up the step to the villa. He could see Clark through the patio doors, sitting at the kitchen island, and wondered how he could warn them…

"Clark!" Chloe screamed suddenly, thinking the same thing that Lucas was. But unlike Lucas, with her attention locked on the patio doors, she didn't see gunman number three come up behind her. "Run—"

"I told you…" the gunman swung the butt of his gun at the back of her head.

"No!" Lucas yelled, struggling against the other two who had suddenly grabbed his arms, holding him back. Chloe dropped to the ground unconscious and Lucas stopped struggling, staring down at her body in shock.

"…shut up," the gunman smirked down at her body quickly before bending down and lifting her up, tossing her over his shoulder and leading the way into the villa. Lucas tried not to watch the way her arms swung lifelessly, and followed quietly.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Lex glared at the armed man closest to him. "What exactly is it that you want?"

"I would really like you to be quiet," the familiar voice said again, gesturing menacingly with the barrel of his rifle. Lex rolled his eyes and held back a snappy retort. Beside him, Pete took to tapping a sporadic pattern out on the counter top, his knee bouncing rhythmically, and looking quite worried.

"You guys," Pete muttered once the gunmen had begun discussing something quietly in the corner. "Not that I'm anxious for them to walk into this situation or anything, but shouldn't Lucas and Chloe be back by now?"

Lex checked the clock on the wall and nodded; it had been a half an hour since they'd been corralled back inside. Lucas and Chloe definitely should have returned by now. Clark turned towards the patio doors.

"Chloe!" he cried, jumping to his feet. Lex would have pulled him back down, but he too caught sight of what had alarmed Clark. Lucas walked into the villa, two armed men behind him, and a third masked man brought up the rear, Chloe's unconscious body thrown over his shoulder.

"What happened to her?" Lex demanded sharply. Beside him Pete hurriedly cleared off the island, making a space for the man to put her down.

"Just a little accident," the guy dropped her unceremoniously onto the counter. As soon as her cold and wet body hit the tiles Lex reached out and checked for a pulse.

"Yeah," Lucas glared accusingly when one of the other gunmen nudged him towards the island forcefully with the barrel of his gun. "An accident involving the butt of _someone_'s rifle."

Lex sighed in relief when he found a pulse; her breathing was deep and steady. "She'll be fine," the man told them flippantly, walking over to join his associates in a mini-huddle.

"What happened?" Lex hissed quietly at Lucas and gestured for Pete to grab his sweatshirt that he'd slung over the back of one of the chairs earlier. Pete handed it to him and Lex wadded it into a ball, slipping it under Chloe's head. Clark held tightly onto one of her hands.

"They surrounded us," Lucas told them quietly, wincing as he flexed some of the muscles in his back. "When we got back she tried to tell Clark to run, but he knocked her out."

"Are you okay?" Lex tried not to sound too concerned when Lucas winced again.

"I'm fine," Lucas nodded quickly and averted his gaze. "Is she going to wake up?"

"Eventually," Lex tentatively felt the back of her head, luckily not feeling any blood. "I don't think he hit her very hard."

"He shouldn't have hit her at all," Clark muttered. "I didn't even hear her anyway."

"Neither did I," Pete shook his head, turning curiously to the doors.

"She yelled pretty loud," Lucas told them. "Do you think maybe the doors are soundproof?"

"Probably," Lex nodded. "This was dear old dad's private getaway."

"I wonder what other goodies he's got tripped up in this place," Pete looked around.

"Whatever there is it has to wait," Clark told them sharply. "We can't do anything until Chloe wakes up."

"Did they tell you what's going on?" Lucas asked.

"Not yet," Lex shook his head. "But I think it's time we found out. Hey!" The gunmen looked over. "Are you going to tell us what the hell you want?"

"Shut up Luthor," one of them snapped.

"Is the girl okay?" the familiar sounding one asked.

"She needs a doctor," Lex lied. "We have to get her out of here." The gunmen looked at each other hesitantly, apparently not really having planned to kill anyone that night. Just as Lex thought that they were going to get lucky, and get out of there, Chloe choose that moment to stir.

Lex cursed mentally when she let out a tiny moan, loud enough for the masked men to hear her. "She sounds like she's coming around," the one who'd hit her remarked dryly. "Looks like we're staying here."

Clark turned his back on the gunmen and leaned closer to Chloe, visibly gripping her hand harder. "Chloe?" he asked eagerly when her eyes began to move slightly behind her closed eyelids. "Chloe?"

Lucas reached out and grabbed a nearby glass of water. Before Lex could stop him, he'd splashed the entire contents of the glass in her face. Chloe coughed loudly and her eyes flew open. "What is your problem?" Clark demanded, turning around and shoving Lucas into the counter.

"Hey, she's awake isn't she?" Lucas shoved him back.

"Stop it," Lex snapped at them once before turning back to Chloe. "Chloe?"

"My head hurts," she muttered, struggling to sit up, and then wincing and lying back down. She pressed a hand to her forehead and wiped away several drops of water. "Who hit me this time?"

"A random kidnapper," Pete joked lamely. "Don't worry, you weren't dating this one."

"Oh yea," she grinned weakly. "Oh! Lucas…he was…"

"I'm fine," Lucas cut in, smirking obnoxiously. "And again, I'm touched by your concern Sullivan."

"And again," Chloe accepted Pete's assistance in sliding to the edge of the island and sitting up. "I just wouldn't know how to break the news to Lex." Lucas snorted and, more concerned about Chloe's health than her verbal judo at that moment, Lex nudgedhim out of the way.

"Are you dizzy?" he asked her, cupping her cheeks in his hands and holding her head still while he checked her pupils.

"No," she assured him, all of them…because the others were peering curiously over Lex's shoulders.

"Good," Lex dropped his hands and turned her head to the side, checking to make sure that there were no abrasions that he'd missed before. "Your pupils look normal, so I don't think you have a concussion. Do you feel okay?"

She smiled weakly and returned his concerned gaze warmly. "My head hurts," she pouted, accepting his hand to help her down off of the island and settling onto a stool. Lex smirked slightly and took a seat beside her, the others following suit, waiting for their captors to start talking.

"You okay?" the familiar sounding guy asked her. Chloe nodded and stared back at him curiously, trying to remember something.

"I'm fi—Danny?" she jumped to her feet slightly, swaying slightly. Clark jumped up too and reached out to steady her.

"What? The delivery guy?" he stared hard at 'Danny', as if he were trying to see through the facemask.

"What's going on here?" Lex demanded again, this time a lot more forcefully than before.

This time, one of them answered. Danny pulled off his facemask, shaking his dreadlocks free, and sighed. "Guess I don't need that anymore," he remarked. "I hope you don't mind if my colleagues keep theirs on. Wouldn't want you to recognize any of them later."

"Later?" Clark asked hopefully. "So then you're going to let us go."

"Well, hopefully," Danny shrugged. "If everything goes smoothly and we get the info that we need."

"And what would that be exactly?" Lex demanded.

"If you want money," Lucas drawled. "You'd better give us a good reason for giving it to you."

"I don't care about your money Luthor," Danny assured him with a sneer.

"Are you sure?" Lucas shrugged. "Because Lex has tons of it to spare."

"Lucas shut up," Chloe snapped, crossing her arms in front of her and glaring at Danny.

Danny's gaze locked onto her again and his sneer seemed to soften. "Are you sure you're okay Chloe?" he asked. "Do you want an Aspirin?"

"I'll be fine," she gritted her teeth.

"They weren't supposed to hurt anyone," Danny said apologetically.

"Really?" Chloe snarked. "That's really nice of you to say. You may just be the nicest kidnapper I've ever had, and believe me I've had a lot. That's just so reassuring."

"Well if you're going to be a bitch," Danny shrugged, his tentative smile vanishing into a disturbingly cool exterior that made even Lex flinch a little. "We can just move it right along. Hey boss are you ready to do this yet?"

"Boss?" Lex looked skeptically at the shortest guy in the group. "You're the head of this little operation?"

"I work for a guy, who works for a guy," the short man said, his voice slightly high pitched and weasel-like. "Who happens to be paying us a lot of green to keep you all locked up in here until his court verdict is announced on Monday morning."

"Wiring it here all the way from Kansas," the mean, Chloe-hitting guy piped in.

"From Kansas," Lex sighed, knowing that it was probably his fault that they were in this mess, not that he'd really thought any different. Although, he was having trouble remembering whom he'd pushed towards jail lately, besides his father…

"Dimitri Katz," Lucas guesses, correctly because the boss nodded.

"Who?" Clark asked.

"Mr. Katz is standing trial this week for racquettering. Coincidently, he is one of the state's more prominent business men...based out of Edge City," Lex informed them, turning to Lucas accusingly.

"Edge City?" Clark repeated, also turning to look at Lucas.

"What did you do Lucas?" Lex demanded. His stomach clenched suddenly when he saw the flash of hurt on his brother's face, not concealed as quickly as Lucas would have liked. Lex averted his eyes and Lucas didn't even bother to respond to his accusations.

"Don't worry Luthor," the boss laughed. "It wasn't his fault this time. He just helped us track the rest of you down. Once Benny knew that he was meeting with the girl, it pointed us in the right direction."

"Benny?" Lucas repeated. "Benny Sans? You had Benny Sans tailing me?"

"Who's Benny Sans?" Clark asked, not entirely able to keep up.

"I know him from a club I used to go to," Lucas muttered.

"Look, to make a long story short," the boss waved his hand impatiently, and pointed around at the hostages in turn. "Benny led us to Luthor, who led us to the girl, who led us to him."

Lex followed Clark's astonished gaze, to were the masked man was pointing. At Pete Ross.

TBC…


	4. Three

**Chapter Three**

_**NEW A/N (DEC8)- Thanks for the reviews guys, I knew you wouldn't abandon me. Some of you may not have noticed, but I had to go back through this chapter and change the name of the Governor. I called him Haberman at least ten times, but Mayor Haberman was the cute old mayor of Metropolis (that Lex liked), and Governor Averman was the pervert ass who groped Chloe and was friends with Lionel. Totally my fault, and if you find another Haberman/Averman mistake please just pretend that it says Averman. Thanks! :0)**_

_A/N: Well, I got no reviews for the last chapter (that I recieved anyways), so I'm REALLY hoping that it was just a mixup on 's part. No worries though, I still wrote the next chapter. It's long but I just wanted to get it done. The teaser will be up by the end of the weekend. I'm going to visit family in Calgary on Sunday, now that school's pretty much done for me until January, so won't get to update next week. I'll bring a note book with me though, so at least I can get the Halloween episode done (isn't it ridiculous that I'm writing the Halloween episode two weeks before Christmas?) and posted when I get back. Please review. :0)_

"Pete?" Clark was the first one to get over the shock and finally say something, though Lex imagined that the wounded puppy sound in his voice didn't make Pete feel any better.

"I didn't—" Pete looked desperate to explain, but the balding man, who was apparently the brains of the operation, shut him up quickly.

"Shut up…all of you," the man snapped. Lex noted smugly that he looked much better without hair than the older man did. "James put them into one of the bedrooms…leave the Ross kid with me. I've got a few questions for him."

"I'm not leaving him alone with you," Clark insisted, shooting his meanest look at the guns pointed in his direction.

"Clark, man…" Pete shook his head. "Just go. I'll tell you everything later okay?" He looked directly at Chloe and Clark as he spoke, though Lex knew that the comment was really addressed to all of them. "Please."

Clark nodded finally and they allowed the gunmen to lead them into the first bedroom in the hallway, Lex's bedroom. Lex was the last one inside, and as he tried to see back into the kitchen he could just get a glimpse of Danny pushing Pete back down onto a stool, and then the door closed. Lex didn't try to open it again; he knew that there would be a guard outside of the door anyways.

It wasn't until he turned back to the others that he noticed that both Chloe and Lucas were beginning to shake rather rapidly. Their clothes were still soaking wet, and the villa was air conditioned and quite cool inside. He crossed quickly to the dresser where he'd put his clothes and pulled out a set of sweats for Lucas and a long-sleeved t-shirt and some shorts for Chloe.

"Here," he handed them the clothes. "Go change before you get sick." Chloe nodded eagerly and grabbed the offered clothes, heading for the bathroom. She shot one look at Lucas before closing the door behind her…and locked the door. Lucas rolled his eyes at her but accepted the clothes from Lex with a nod. He quickly stripped off his wet t-shirt and bathing suit (Clark turned away in a hurry) and pulled the sweats on.

Lex sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, Clark taking a spot on the other side. Lucas roamed around the room at random, finally coming to a stop at the dresser where the picture frames sat. "Tell me you don't travel with pictures," he scoffed, picking up the picture of himself curiously.

"They're not mine," Lex assured him.

"Ah, dear old dad," Lucas sighed with false feeling. Lex struggled not to roll his eyes and was saved when the bathroom door opened again and Chloe reappeared.

"Anything from Pete yet?" she asked them anxiously. When they all shook their heads she walked over to the door and pressed her ear against the wood. "I can't hear anything," she told them.

"Oh really?" Lucas asked sarcastically, abandoning the pictures and moving to sit in the middle of the bed, reclining against Lex's plush white pillows.

"There's a skylight in the bathroom," Chloe continued, ignoring him completely and turning to look at Clark and Lex. "It's pretty high but I think if I can stand on Clark's shoulders I'll be able to reach…what?"

They'd all begun to frown at her rambling. "We can't leave without Pete, Chloe," Clark pointed out.

"I know that Clark," she looked offended. "I hadn't planned on it. But we don't know what they're doing to him in there! They could be hurting him and us sitting in here isn't helping him! At least if we try to get out we might have a chance of saving him!"

"Or they'll see us coming and just shoot him on the spot," Lucas interjected dryly. "Which is what…a better option?"

"As much as I hate to admit this," Clark ground his teeth together audibly. "Lucas is right. If we try anything they're likely to shoot him. We can't risk that."

"Well I can't just sit here and let them—"

The door opened suddenly and Chloe jumped, backing up quickly towards the bed. Lex jumped to his feet but relaxed slightly when he saw Pete being pushed violently into the room, the door slamming shut behind him again. Chloe hurried forward and threw her arms around him tightly. Clark jumped to his feet too and hurried over.

"Pete!" he cried, joining Chloe quickly. "Are you okay? What happened? What did they say? Did they—"

"I'm fine," Pete muttered, pulling away from Chloe's hug and giving them a quick, weak, smile. His left eye had obviously been hit, and he had an open gash on his left cheek, but other than that he looked okay. Chloe led him over to the bed and made him sit down beside Lex.

"Stay there," she ordered, hurrying back to the bathroom and emerging a few seconds later with a wet facecloth. She climbed up onto the bed in front of him, beside Lucas, and began to carefully dab at the blood on his cheeks, wiping it away.

"Pete," Lex began seriously once Clark had sat down again. "You have to tell us what's going on."

"I know," Pete winced when Chloe patted the cloth across the cut.

"You didn't seem too surprised," Lucas pointed out. When the other's looked at him he shrugged. Lex noticed that Pete didn't protest that right away…like he _should _have." You knew that they were here for you didn't you?"

"You did say that you'd explain everything," Chloe remembered. "Pete what's going on?"

Pete sighed and removed the facecloth from his eye, toying with it in his hands. "This summer, when I wasn't with you in Smallville that is, I was working in the Governor's office in Wichita. Running errands, making coffee, you know…bitch work," he didn't quite meet anyone's eyes. "So one day, I get this note from the Governor's assistant to meet Averman in his office."

"And?" Lex prompted, trying not to look too eager…he really disliked that man.

"And he asked me if I would be able to do him a favor…a personal favor," Pete admitted. "Of course I said yes…I mean, the guy's the governor, you know? Anyways, he wanted me to deliver a package to a factory just out of the city."

"Who was it for?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know," Pete shrugged. "It was just a blank envelope. He gave me the address and I went after my shift at the office. But when I got there I couldn't find anyone downstairs, so I went up to the second floor and could hear voices down the hall. There was some sort of office up there, and they had the door closed. I had planned on just knocking and then getting the hell out of there…but I could hear yelling through the door."

"They were fighting?" Clark asked.

"They were having a business meeting," Lucas corrected with a smirk.

"Do you know who was at the _meeting_?" Lex asked.

Pete nodded. "One of them was Katz; someone yelled his name at one point. Oh, and some guy named Benny. I heard something about a Tuesday morning shipment, and a meeting on Thursday, but thought that it was just a business thing. Anyway, I didn't want them to think that I was listening in, so I went back down the hall to the stairs and made as much noise as I could going up them. By the time I got back to the office you couldn't hear them anymore."

"Did you deliver the package?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, that's the thing," Pete nodded again. "I knocked on the door and Thomas Avery answered it."

"Who's Thomas Avery?" Clark frowned.

"The Governor's assistant," Lex supplied.

"I told him that I had a package from the Governor and he thanked me and tipped me twenty bucks for delivering it after hours," Pete shrugged. "Then I got out of there."

"So what's the problem then?" Lucas asked, now clearly interested.

"I didn't think that there was a problem," Pete admitted. "I delivered the package and then went home, not really thinking much of it. Nothing happened for a few days and then on Tuesday I was watching the news and saw the report that Dimitri Katz got arrested down at the train yards."

"For trying to ship fifty million dollars of cocaine to Metropolis," Lucas remembered.

"Yeah," Pete nodded. "And I found it really strange that the Governor's assistant was waiting there for a message on the same day that they were having a big fight about shipping problems."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing," Pete admitted sheepishly. "Look to be completely honest, I was too afraid to do anything. This was at the end of July you know…and all I could think about was what seems to happen to people who try to take on guys like Dimitri Katz. It's not very brave of me, but I really didn't want to get into a situation like you did," Pete said to Chloe. "I'm sorry…I know I should have done something, but I knew that if Katz didn't try something then Governor Averman would have."

"Why did they come here though, Pete?" Lex asked him. "If they didn't know that you'd heard anything."

"Apparently there was security cameras in the hallways," Pete laughed bitterly at his own stupidity, for getting caught. "I should have thought or that earlier but…anyways, they saw the tapes and knew that I'd been outside the doors."

"Why didn't they make a move sooner?" Clark asked. "If they knew that you were there why wait until you left the country before coming after you?"

"The case was assigned to my mom," Pete told them.

"And if the judge's son went missing it would be a little suspicious," Lex nodded.

"Plus," Pete shrugged. "I think maybe they thought I didn't know what was going on, because I hadn't said anything."

"So…why now?"

"Last week someone submitted an anonymous tip linking Katz to Averman," Lucas remembered, now leaning forward on his knees anxiously.

"They thought it was me," Pete nodded. "And since Katz is primarily located in Edge City, they'd had a guy on Lucas for a while. I guess they saw you meet with Chloe and Clark in Metropolis that day, and then they knew where I'd be this weekend."

"Wow," Clark let out a deep breath. Pete nodded again and Chloe groaned, tired of all of the kidnappings and hostage situations.

"Did they make any demands yet?" Lex asked Pete.

"Nope," Pete shook his head. "But their going to call my mom once they get the signal scrambler set up…I'm supposed to be the incentive for her to let Katz off. Like this is the first moron who tried _that_."

"I wonder who this other source is," Chloe said, more to herself than to the rest of them.

"I don't know," Pete admitted. "I told them that it wasn't me…but I don't think they believe me. Or else they just don't care." They were all silent for a few more minutes, not knowing what to say. "Look, guys…I'm really sorry. I should have said something in July, before it got this far. This is all my fault."

"Pete," Chloe shook her head. "No one in this room is in a position to judge you. We've all done things we're not proud of."

"Speak for yourself," Lucas jabbed.

"We've all done things that we _shouldn't_ be proud of," Chloe corrected, turning to look Pete in the eyes seriously. "Okay?"

Pete looked quickly at Lex and Clark before meeting Chloe's gaze again. "Okay," he nodded reluctantly and then turned his attention back to Lex. "Sorry about your party man."

"Don't worry about it," Lex assured him. A part of him was hoping that Averman would get found out as well as Katz; the man was a creep and was a little too fond of Chloe.

"So," Lucas clapped his hands together. "Are we going to try that skylight?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Would you hold still Clark?" Chloe yelped slightly as Clark once again swayed to the right and tightened his grip around Chloe's ankles. She was standing on his shoulders, trying to reach the skylight in Lex's bathroom…or at least, she was trying to stand on his shoulders.

"I'm trying to Chloe," he insisted. "But you keep moving around! Would you just hold still?"

"It's really high though," she protested weakly, wobbling again. "I don't want you to drop me!"

"I won't drop you Chloe," he rolled his eyes. "But I am beginning to think that you have less grace than—"

"Don't finish that sentence Clark Kent," she warned him, bending down and swatting him quickly on the top of his head before trying to steady herself again. In the doorway Lucas and Pete leaned against the frame watching them with mixed expressions of amusement and wariness.

"How's it going in there?" Lex poked his head into the room. He was currently keeping watch for the gunmen to re-enter the bedroom. There'd been no sign of them since they'd pulled Pete back into the kitchen to make the call to his mother and then sent him back into the bedroom with the others. "Clark try _not_ to drop her."

"Funny," Clark muttered under his breath. Of course he wouldn't drop her, he could lift someone that weighed two hundred times what Chloe did, but except for Pete none of them knew that. He was more concerned about the fact that she just wouldn't hold still. "Chloe I swear if you don't stop moving I'm going to drop you!"

She reached her arms up as high as she could and hopped a little, not quite able to reach the glass panes. "I can't reach it," she told them. "Can you lift me higher?"

"Maybe she could stand on your head?" Lucas suggested obnoxiously and Pete snickered. Clark ignored them both and grabbed Chloe's ankles securely. He took a deep breath and lifted her several inches off of his shoulders…of course pretending that it was a difficult thing to do.

"Hurry up," he told her, making his voice as shaky as possible for good measure. She nodded and reached again, this time reaching the panels and fumbling at the latch that conveniently seemed to be located on skylights.

"Almost…got…" she muttered, still fumbling. An audible click echoed around the silent bathroom. "I got it!" she cried happily. "Can you lift me higher Clark? I need a few more inches if I'm going to climb—"

"What's wrong?" Lex asked, coming over to them now and looking up at her. Clark saw his eyes widen and followed his gaze up, to where Chloe was staring in shock at one of the gunmen, his mask firmly in place, and perched in a tall tree with his gun trained her way.

"Oh…"

Lucas and Pete hurried over too and looked up. "Uh, hi," Chloe greeted the gunman.

"Hi," he returned sarcastically. "What are you doing?"

"Just um, trying to get a little fresh air," she smiled plastically at him. "What are you doing?"

"Just making sure no one tries to get out of the skylight," he returned. "Nice try though."

"Yeah thanks," Chloe muttered. "I guess I'll just be…going back inside now."

"You do that," he nodded. Clark began to lower her back down until she was sitting on his shoulders. "Oh…and thanks for the skin show earlier. Really made my night."

Chloe's sounds of protest were drowned out by the glass panel snapping shut once again. Clark squatted down and let her slide down his back. "Good try guys," Lucas clapped his hands together. "What's next? We blow a hole in the wall and just walk out?"

"Maybe we should put a blanket up over that skylight," Pete suggested, looking up at the windows again, but not quite able to see the hidden gunman.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"That guy is watching everything that we do," Pete pointed out. "Besides…I have to go to the bathroom."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny hummed lightly to himself as he sifted through the refrigerator looking for something to give him a carb rush. There was a lot of fruit, but nothing that he really wanted. "Where's the pizza?" he muttered, taking an apple out of the fridge and biting into it.

"Danny!" Jace yelled from his position on the couch. He gestured for Danny to go over and join the others. Once they were all assembled Jace stood in front of them, trying to make himself look taller than he actually was. "Okay guys, here's what's going to happen: the trial is set for Monday morning. Now we're calling Ross again tomorrow at noon for confirmation. If she refuses to let Katz off—"

"She won't," Toby said with a cruel smirk. "Not if she wants to see her kid again, or any of those other brats."

"If she refuses to let Katz off," Jace repeated, shooting a pointed glare at Toby. "We've been ordered to kill the kid…and any other witnesses. If she agrees, we keep them all here until Monday after she gives the verdict."

"What do we do with them?" Mario asked, gesturing in the general direction of the bedroom where Pete Ross and the others were being kept.

"We're supposed to let them go home like they planned," Jace shrugged.

"They know what I look like," Danny protested. "And they might be able to identify the rest of you."

"The deal with Ross is that we're _supposed_ to let them go," Jace repeated with a small smirk. "But Haberman's people have made it clear that they don't want anyone returning to the U.S. that can provide any incriminating evidence against him or his office. The Ross kid and his friends will encounter an unfortunate accident on their way to the airport…one that can't be blamed on us because we'd let them go a few hours earlier. Does everybody understand?"

Nods all around then. "Okay, we're going to work in shifts until daybreak," Jace continued. "Someone go outside and relieve Andy, he's been in that tree since we put them in the room. The only way out of that bedroom is the door and the skylight. I want someone watching both at all times, take turns doing two hours each. Danny bring the kids some food before they start bitching, would ya?"

"Sure boss," Danny sighed and wandered back to the fridge. He loaded his arms up with fruit, some bread, a six-pack of bottled water and a box of cookies that he found in one of the cupboards. He nodded to Jimmy, who was taking his turn at guarding, and pushed the door open with his free hand. "Cover me, would ya?" Jimmy nodded and trained his gun on the kids, who were all sprawled out on various pieces of furniture. "Brought you guys some food," he told them, dropping the armful onto the bed in front of the girl. "How ya doing Chloe?"

"Peachy keen," she snarked at him, grabbing a bottle of water immediately and popping it open. "So are you going to tell us what's going on? How long are we going to be in here?"

"Your mom's supposed to have her decision when we call back tomorrow at noon," Danny ignored Chloe and turned to Pete. "If she's got good news for us you'll all be in here until Monday after the trial."

"And if she has bad news?" the tall kid questioned.

"Well then you'll all be out of here a whole lot sooner," Danny smirked. "Goodnight." He left the room and closed the door on their worried faces.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"While I am aware that everyone eventually dies," Lucas sighed dramatically and grabbed several of the cookies from the box Danny had left. "I honestly didn't think I would be spending my last days locked in a bedroom with three other guys and only one chick."

"And how exactly did you see yourself spending your last days Lucas?" Lex asked him, passing an apple to Chloe before taking one for himself. "Dying peacefully with a legion of devoted grandchildren by your bedside?"

"Or at least several young models in my bed," Lucas shrugged and then turned a lecherous gaze to Chloe. "Time's running out Sullivan. We could still go and take a shower or something."

"Oh wow," she rolled her eyes through bites of apple. "You sure know how to sweet talk a girl Lucas. I'm just so turned on now…let's go."

"Try to sound a little enthused," Lucas pouted, throwing himself back on the bed again, taking his place among the pillows.

"Guys!" Pete kicked violently at one of the chairs against the wall. "Would you cut it out? This is serious, we need to think of a plan!"

"Well what kind of plan do you want us to come up with exactly Pete?" Lucas demanded, his playful demeanor now completely gone. "We could go out the skylight and get shot, or we could go out the door and get shot. Pick one, which sounds better to you?"

"I didn't mean that," Pete cried back. "I'm just saying that instead of sitting there hitting on Chloe you should be trying to think of something!"

"Maybe your mom will agree and we'll just get to leave on Monday like Danny said," Clark suggested hopefully.

"Or maybe they'll just kill us on Monday because we all can help identify them?" Lucas said slowly, waiting for Clark to catch on.

"Oh…"

"There's gotta be another way out of here," Pete began to pace. "And why did we have to get such a small room? It's getting harder and harder to breath in here!"

"This is the master bedroom Pete," Clark pointed out. "That means it's the biggest."

"You'd think that Lionel would have thought of that," Chloe muttered, taking a large swig of water. Lucas paused his chewing, as did Lex and Clark, and Pete too turned to look at Chloe with realization on their faces. "What?" she asked, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand.

"What do you mean?" Lex demanded.

Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion. "What? I mean that it's just not like your father to allow himself to get cornered like this, you know?" she shrugged. "He was no stranger to people trying to go after him and his family. So if he built this perfect little hideaway for himself it just seems stupid that he'd make the only escape a fifteen-foot skylight. Talk about dropping the ball."

Lucas caught Lex's gaze and they both came to the same realization at the same time. "Of course," Lex shook his head, jumping to his feet and hurrying to pull all of the pictures off of their hangings on the walls. Lucas followed suit.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked them, sharing his own (disbelieving) look with Pete and Chloe.

"You're right Chloe, that is unlike him. Because my father would never have gotten himself into a situation like this," Lex told her, still looking around the room for something that they may have missed. "He would have a back-up plan."

"What? You think he hid a window behind the paintings Lex?" Chloe laughed. Lucas shrugged.

"Think about it," he told them. "The doors are sound proof, and probably bullet proof too. The entire compound has a ridiculous amount of security for a tropical villa. Isn't that a little odd?"

"Lionel was just paranoid," Chloe shook her head at their antics. "And apparently it runs in the family."

"No…Chloe I think they might be right," Pete shook his head. "Lionel was planning something big with this place. You said it yourself that he was probably planning to retire here one day."

"Or escape here," Clark muttered.

"Exactly," Pete agreed. "Why would he build this place and not tell anyone about it? I mean it's one thing to not report it to the public, but Lex didn't even know. He kept this thing hidden for a reason."

"So you think that he…what? Build himself a bunker in the Cayman Islands?" Chloe asked them. She got four nods in return. "Oh god."

"Pray all you want later Chloe," Lex told her. "Right now we have to find a way out of here." Chloe groaned but abandoned her meal and assisted them in scouring the room for something. Clark and Pete joined in on the search too, and for a few minutes none of them talked.

Lucas looked up just in time to see Clark staring at the wall farthest from the door with an unusual amount of interest. "Guys there's something…" he hurried over to the wall and began to press his hands against it sporadically, looking for something.

"Clark?" Chloe looked up from the painting that she was re-hanging. "What are you—"

They all let out the same short gasping noise when Clark seemed to find the right spot on the wall. Lucas felt like he was watching a movie as he watched a panel in the wall slide open, revealing a doorway. They all hurried over and looked into what was clearly a tunnel leading underground, judging from the set of stairs leading down anyways.

"Good job man," Pete clapped Clark on the shoulder and Lex tried to see more of the tunnel, though the darkness inside probably made it difficult.

"How did you know it was there?" Lucas asked him suspiciously, remembering the strange way that Clark had stared at the wall and then hurried over to it, as if he knew exactly where the door was located.

"Oh…I, um…I just figured that it would be somewhere around there," Clark shrugged and stuttered rather lamely…and very familiarly. "Because it's the furthest point away from the door."

"Uh huh," Lucas nodded, not believing a single word but honestly not really caring at that point.

"Does anyone have a lighter?" Lex asked, squinting into the dark tunnel. "We're going to need a torch of some kind. It's pretty dark in there."

Lucas had a lighter and after a few more minutes of scrambling, they managed to put together a makeshift torch with Chloe's hairbrush and one of the pillowcases from the bed. "Why was your hairbrush in Lex's room?" Clark asked her just before they went in.

Chloe shrugged. "I ran out of space in my bag and put it in Lex's," she then gestured for Lex, who was holding the torch, to lead the way.

One by one they climbed into the tunnel, which was actually more of a hallway than a tunnel, and descended the stairs. Once Clark had gone through the doorway, last, the door slid shut behind them and they were plunged into almost total darkness. Just as quickly as it had come, the darkness lifted when several fluorescent lights, lining the hallway above them, flickered on. Lucas looked around at the rather impressive hallway; concrete floors, walls and ceiling, and a light every five or so feet. Lex shrugged and dropped the torch, stomping it out carefully with his sandals.

Lucas was about to tell them to keep moving, when he noticed a faint green glow emanating from the walls. The glow grew stronger the longer they stood there. "What's going on?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound as freaked out as he felt.

Chloe and Lex looked closely at the walls, where the green seemed to be coming from. Lucas looked too and could make out what appeared to be shards of green crystals embedded in the concrete walls. "It's meteor rocks," Chloe told them. "Why would he line the hallway with meteor rocks?"

"It's always been an obsession of his," Lex shook his head. "Apparently it was just a little worse than we originally—Clark? Are you okay?"

Lucas and Chloe spun around to see Clark bent double, and Pete trying to help him stand. "Clark?" Chloe hurried over to him, pressing the back of her had to his forehead. "Are you okay?"

"F-fine," Clark wheezed out, not sounding at all fine. "J-just claustrophobic."

"I didn't know you were claustrophobic," Chloe frowned, helping Pete to support him.

"Yeah," Clark nodded, wincing slightly. "I get really sick around…small spaces."

"Then we'd better keep moving," Lex told them, clearly not believing him either. Clark nodded gratefully and they continued on again, following Lex's lead. Lucas pushed all thoughts of Clark Kent's weirdness aside and tried to concentrate on seeing the end of the tunnel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The farther that they walked down that long hallway, the louder it seemed to become. Pretty soon the walls were almost shaking with the sound. "Is that water?" Pete asked loudly over the noise.

Chloe caught Lucas's gaze, which was tinted green from the meteor rocks, and they both appeared to be wondering the same thing: was it the waterfall that they had discovered earlier? Lex led the way around the last corner in the tunnel, up an ascending staircase and came to an abrupt halt in front of another door.

He looked back at them quickly, to make sure that they were all still there…Clark looked almost as green as the rocks in the wall…and then set about finding a way to open the door. Chloe hurried over to help and left Pete to support Clark on his own.

She frowned at a strange rectangle embedded on the concrete wall. "What's that?" she asked, reaching her palm out to press the entire length of her hand. Chloe couldn't help the startled gasp that she made when the rectangle emitted a tiny red beam that seemed to scan her hand. They all watched eagerly, waiting for something to happen.

The words "UNKNOWN USER" flashed in harsh red block letters just above her fingertips and she pulled her hand away quickly. "He installed a security system in his escape tunnel," Chloe rolled her eyes, actually a little impressed at the old bastards thoroughness.

"Let's see how much he loved his children then," Lucas smirked and nudged Chloe out of the way. He took a turn at pressing his own palm against the rectangle, and the same red beam moved across his hand. This time green block letters popped up, reading: "LUCAS LUTHOR"…and then: "ENTER CODE". Lucas blinked at that and peered down at the suddenly illuminated keypad. "What the—I have _no_ idea what the code is."

"Try your birthday," Pete suggested, still trying to hold Clark up. He shot a sideways look at Clark. "And hurry."

Lucas nodded and punched in a series of numbers and the word "DENIED" flashed in large red letters. "Try 666," Chloe suggested snarkily. When Lucas glared at her she turned to Lex. "You try."

Lex did and this time the panel announced "ALEXANDER LUTHOR" and then "ENTER CODE". Lex paused for a second and then he too typed in a series of numbers. They watched eagerly as the scanner blinked red twice before turning reading "ACCESS GRANTED". The door slid sideways into the wall.

"What code did you use?" Lucas asked him.

"LuthorCorp security code," Lex told him. Lucas shrugged and they hurried through the door and into what looked like a small cave or alcove.

They were standing on a platform that extended about twenty feet in front of them, the backside of the waterfall making the fourth wall and shielding them from view from the outside. Clark, who was obviously feeling better, walked over to inspect some large emergency supply boxes that sat against one of the walls.

"This is really strange guys," he shook his head, lifting up a sleeping bag to show them. "It's like he had planned on hiding out here for a while. The others hurried over to join him in the rummaging, finding some bottled water that Chloe opened eagerly. She took a large swig and passed the bottle on.

"So," she turned to Lex with wide eyes and bit her lip. "What do we do now?"

"How far is it to the nearest town?" Lex asked Chloe, hating the way that her pleading looks made him feel: like he _had_ to do something.

"At least twenty miles," she shook her head. "And the nearest villa is almost fifteen miles."

"So when you said that this was a secluded villa, you really meant that it was a _secluded_ villa?" Pete grinned weakly at her, allowing himself to drop onto the ground, crossing his legs underneath him. Chloe nodded and turned back to Lex.

"We're pretty far out here," she continued. "But we could start walking now, and by the time they realize that we're gone—"

"If they don't already know," Lucas muttered.

"What?"

"Well, it's not like we put pillows under the covers to make it look like people," he rolled his eyes. "As soon as they check in the bedroom they're going to know that we're gone."

"But they might not know how we got out," Clark interjected. "And even if they do know how, it's not like they can get out of the tunnel to grab us here anyways."

"Hey yeah," Pete perked up a bit. "We don't even know if they know about this waterfall."

"They know," Lucas snorted. "This is where they found Chloe and me."

"What were you and Chloe doing here?" Lex asked him, more sharply than he meant to. Lucas smirked and Chloe punched him roughly in the shoulder.

"Stop it!" she warned him and then turned back to Lex. "We were just—"

"We were just going for a little swim big brother," Lucas rolled his eyes and rubbed at his shoulder where she'd hit him. "No harm done. But they know it's here anyways."

"Then I, for one, suggest that we get the hell out of here," Pete raised his hand. "_Before_ they come this way searching for us. All in favor?" Four other hands rose in the air. "Oh good."

"But where are we going to go once we're back on the beach?" Chloe asked. "We need a plan."

"We'll get out of here first," Lex looked around at the alcove with distaste. "And Lucas and I will go back and get the Jet Ski's."

"What if they see you?" Chloe shook her head, not liking the plan.

"That's a good point," Lucas nodded quickly. "How about you and Clark go back and get them?"

Lex looked over at Clark, who shrugged. "Fine," he ground his teeth slightly at his brother. "Then we'll ride to the nearest town and call for help. Okay?"

"That is a superbly though out plan," Lucas nodded mockingly. "Nothing could go wrong with that." He rolled his eyes and went back to the boxes, rummaging again and removing several items.

"Do you have a better plan Lucas?" Lex asked him shortly.

"How about we walk straight back up to the house," Lucas stood back up and turned around, holding a sleek black gun in his hand. "And shoot them before they see us."

"Where did you get that?" Clark demanded, stepping a few paces away from him.

"It was in the box," Lucas shrugged, skillfully popping the ammo cartridge out and then replacing it. He looked up to see them all staring back with mixed expressions of fear. "What?"

"Put it away Lucas," Lex told him quietly, glancing quickly at Chloe. She was paler than she was just a few minutes ago, and she couldn't seem to stop looking at the gun.

"What?" Lucas laughed and shook his head. "No way. We're going to need this…or did you not notice the six armed men that wereholding us hostage?"

"I noticed," Lex assured him. "Just…"

"No," Pete shook his head. "Lucas is right. I'm sorry Chloe, I know that you don't want that thing around right now, but if that gun is the thing that's going to keep us from getting nabbed again then I'm all for it."

"What's the big deal?" Lucas looked at her. "It's not like any of us are going to shoot _you_."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she ground out. "Just give the gun to Lex and let's get moving."

"Why?" Lucas frowned.

"If you're not willing to go back to the villa and get the Jet Ski's then give it to someone who is," she snapped. Lucas glared back at her briefly before flipping the gun in his hand and holding it out to Lex, handle first.

Lex tucked the gun in the waistband of his trunks and nodded. "Let's go then," he gestured to the waterfall.

"I'll go first," Clark volunteered.

"Take a running jump Clark," Chloe grabbed his forearm and looked up at him seriously. "There are rocks all around the lagoon. Please be careful."

Clark beamed down at her. "No problem," he assured her. Chloe nodded and let go of his arm and they all stood back as Clark backed up to the wall and then ran, jumping straight through the sheet of water. The roar of the waterfall blocked out any sound from the outside so they didn't know if he'd landed safely or not.

"I'll go next," Pete told them. He too backed up to the wall and took running jump through the waterfall. Chloe went next, not feeling any of the fear that she had the first time.

This time though, when she resurfaced on the other side, Pete and Clark were there to wave her over and help her climb out of the lagoon. Lex came through a few seconds later, and finally Lucas.

Once they had all assembled on the ground, soaking wet, Lucas smirked. "That was fun," he told them. "Let's do it again."

"Let's not," Chloe laughed and they all began to track back down the path in the direction of the beach.

Clark followed behind the others, trying as inconspicuously as possible to x-ray the area, to make sure that no one else was out there. So far nothing, apparently they hadn't checked the bedroom yet. He kept his ears peeled for any noise from the villa though.

Lucas led the way out of the bush and down the beach, back the villa. Once they'd come to the last bend in the shore he stopped. "It's just around there," he gestured to where a few beams of light could be spotted coming through the closed patio doors.

Lex nodded. "Okay, you three stay out of sight while Clark and I go get the Jet Ski's," he turned to Chloe. "Keep them in line."

"Use force if you want," Lucas leered at her with a smirk.

Chloe rolled her eyes and then turned to Clark with eyes wide enough to put Lana to shame. He felt his chest clench uncomfortably when she blinked up at him and threw her arms around him. "Be careful," she mumbled into his chest. Clark nodded and rested his chin against the top of her head quickly before pulling away. He ignored the exaggerated smirk on Lucas's face.

"Aren't I always careful?" Clark asked her.

"No," she shook her head. "Usually you charge head first into the most ridiculous situations and somehow miraculously manage to come out of them without a scratch."

"Oh," Clark paused. "Then you really don't need to worry do you?"

"I guess not," she nodded. "But still…try not to get caught." Clark promised her that he would try. He tried not to feel too uncomfortable when Chloe gave Lex a hug as well—much quicker than the one she'd given him—and said something quietly to him. Lex nodded at her and squeezed her shoulder in a way that seemed to reassure her more than anything Clark could have said. He hated the jealous feeling that suddenly bubbled up.

"Not to put a damper on this little love fest," Lucas drawled from where he was leaning against a tree. "But what about the gun up in the tree? As soon as you get onto the beach he's going to be able to see you."

Clark and Lex shared a look. "Don't worry about it," Lex assured them. "Just get out of sight." Lucas shrugged. Chloe and Pete joined him and they slipped behind a couple of trees.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lex and Clark snuck quietly around the bend in the beach and stopped to glance around, making sure that none of the gunmen were seated near the doors. "Looks clear," Lex told him, shifting his gaze up to the trees and trying to find the man up there.

Clark looked too, and used his x-ray vision to pick out the skeleton amongst the black sky. "How are we going to get around him?" Clark asked quietly. Lex pulled the gun out of his waistband and pointed it up at the gunman. "Lex! No!"

"What else do you suggest Clark?" Lex dropped the gun and turned to him with a hiss. "If we go out there he'll see us and shoot us, and if we don't get those Jet Ski's the rest of them will eventually find us and kill all of us."

"But…could you just try to hurt him? You don't have to kill him," Clark insisted.

"Clark and injured man can still shoot a gun," Lex told him coldly. "I'm not about to let him kill either of us. And I'm certainly not about to let the rest of them kill Chloe and the others. Are you?"

Clark didn't answer him, not because he disagreed, but because he didn't want to admit that he felt the same. He would not sacrifice Chloe and Pete if they could take out one gunman and get away. They meant too much to him. Lex nodded once and took his aim again. Clark could hear the muffled noise of the silencer and then he saw the gunman slump back against the tree trunk. Unmoving.

Lex lowered the gun slowly and didn't say anything. Clark really hoped that Chloe and Pete weren't watching. "Let's go," he told Lex shortly, leading the way out onto the beach. They made a beeline for the parked Jet Ski's and began pushing them out into the water, keeping one eye on the patio doors. Clark had a lot of trouble looking him in the eye.

"I had to do it Clark," Lex said quietly, pushing his Jet Ski roughly towards the water and not meeting his eyes either.

"I know," Clark nodded. "I just—"

"Well that's why _I_ did it Clark," Lex smiled slightly and then turned away. Clark wanted to say something…anything…to him, but just couldn't find the words. Whether or not something had to be done, Clark just couldn't feel better over the way Lex had been so quick to shoot that man.

"Let's hurry," he said instead, helping Lex push his Jet Ski over a small sandbar. It bobbed along with the waves once it hit the water. They did the same with the other Jet Ski. "Should we start them?"

Lex looked back at the doors again and shook his head. "The door may be soundproof but I don't really want to risk it," he finally decided. "Let's just push them around the corner before we start them."

Clark nodded and they began to move the Jet Ski's through the water, the waves parting for them. Clark snuck one look back at the doors before they disappeared from view.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's taking so long?" Lucas hissed at Clark, looking around quickly to make sure that no one was coming. Clark was trying repeatedly to turn the key and start his Jet Ski, but nothing was happening. He jumped off and went to check the fuel tank. "Don't tell me that it's out of gas."

It was, he could tell just by looking. "There's a gas can on the porch," Pete told them. "We could go and get it."

"I don't even know if it's out of gas," Clark lied. "I can't see. Lucas go and find something to make a torch." Lucas shot him a nasty look but turned around and marched into the bush to find something. Clark gave Pete a pointed look and then made sure that Lex and Chloe had their backs turned.

Once he was sure that none of them were looking, he used his super speed to run around the bushes, and onto the deck where he grabbed the gas can and then ran back. Lucas still wasn't back and Lex and Chloe were doing something with the second Jet Ski. Pete nodded at him and Clark filled the tank quickly and then screwed the cap back on. He tossed the gas can as hard as he could into the air, over the bushes, most likely sending it all the way back to the road behind the villa.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny sighed and looked around the room in boredom. Mario and Toby were playing cards outside of the bedroom door, and the Jimmy was still outside. Jace and Andy had fallen asleep on the couch, the Ross kid's video game running in the background.

"I'm going out for a smoke," he told Toby, who nodded and turned immediately back to his game. Danny slung his rifle around his torso with the shoulder strap and pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket, closing the patio doors behind him. He lit one and took a deep puff, sighing contentedly when the familiar nicotine rush hit him.

It was a nice night, he noted, and made his way down onto the beach to the water. The soft breeze blew over him, and with the cool wind it carried…was that voices? He dropped his cigarette into the sand and quickly slipped the rifle off of his shoulder, training it on the bushes on his right where the voices seemed to be coming from. He pulled a walky-talky out of his pocket and pressed the call button. "It's Danny," he whispered into the speaker. "I need some help on the beach."

He turned the volume off so no one could hear the response, and then slowly made his way in the direction of the voices, gun poised in front of him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lucas came back with a makeshift torch and lit it before handing it to him. "Nope," Clark peered down into the tank. "It's almost full. Try the key again." Lucas turned the key and this time the Jet Ski roared to life. "Hmm…that's strange."

"Whatever," Lucas looked at him suspiciously, but then shrugged and wandered over to help Chloe and Lex. "Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, we're ready," Lex nodded, turning the key on his machine and smirking as it too roared to life. Chloe climbed up on behind him and Lucas behind her. The Jet Ski sank pretty low into the water once they were all on.

"I think there's too much weight with the three of you together," Clark shook his head.

"I think you two are the heaviest," Chloe said to Lucas and Clark. "You'd better ride together and Pete can come with us."

"You're kidding right?" Lucas whined and Clark shared his expression. "I'd rather swim."

"Then swim," Lex shrugged. "But hurry up, before they realize that we're gone." Lucas huffed and waded his way through the water back to Clark's Jet Ski, climbing on behind him.

"Okay," Chloe turned around. "Pete let's— oh god."

The others spun around quickly, seeing Danny standing with his rifle pointed at Pete's back and his hand clamped over his mouth. "Hi there," Danny greeted. Behind him four other gunmen stood with their rifles pointed at the Jet Ski's. "Going somewhere?"

"Let him go," Clark demanded. Pete couldn't speak but his eyes flicked around the scene, looking terrified. Danny shook his head and they could see Pete wince as the gun barrel dug even more deeply into his back.

"If you kill Pete how are you going to be able to convince Judge Ross to let your employer off?" Lex tried to reason.

"We're not going to kill Pete," Danny laughed at them. "Not yet anyway. But the rest of you…"

Clark noticed that each of the other gunmen had a barrel trained on one of them. Chloe turned her head back and pressed her forehead against Lex's shoulder. "Get off the Jet Ski's," the short man ordered. Clark sighed and turned his Jet Ski off, and Lex did the same. "Slowly." They climbed off slowly and stood in the water, waiting. Out of the corner of his eye Clark watched as Chloe stood behind Lex; it was unlike her to cower in fear. By the time he realized what she was doing it was too late to stop her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chloe made sure that they couldn't see her hand and then reached forward as inconspicuously as she could. Lex's back straightened when he felt her hand grasp the gun tucked in the waistband but he couldn't say or do anything to stop her while they were all watching. She managed to conceal the gun just as they began herding them single file back towards the villa. Chloe and her gunman went last, because she purposely waited for the others to go before them, despite the pointed look from Clark.

He knew what she was doing, she could see it when he looked at her, but she refused to let her friends be hurt by those men. She wasn't stupid either, they had seen the man in the tree get shot, and they all knew damn well that Clark would never do it. Chloe was not about to let Lex shoot another man that night; he would already have enough to deal with as it is. It's not like she was anxious to kill another person, she hadn't developed a taste for it or anything, but she knew that she had a longer distance to travel down that road than Lex did. She would not stand by and let him sink deeper and deeper into the black future that his father had laid out for him; even if she couldn't stop his descent there she would damn well make sure that he stayed away from it for as long as he could. Even if that meant taking care of murderous gunmen before he had the chance to. Clark just didn't understand.

When the others had made a bit of progress down the beach she knew it was time to make her move. She let out a sharp cry and grabbed her foot, leaning on the Jet Ski for support, and forcing tears to her eyes. "What is it?" her guard asked gruffly from his place on the sand. Clark looked back at her in concern but his guard nudged him along with the barrel of his rifle and soon Chloe was alone with her guard.

"Something stung me," she whimpered.

"It was probably a jelly fish," the guy told her impatiently. "These islands are full of them. Get moving."

"I-I don't think I can walk," she let her lower lip quiver, in her mind striving for a picture that looked remarkably like Lana discussing her dead parents. '_Every body leaves me_.' "Could you help me?" she licked her lips slowly, hoping to convince him.

He hesitated for a moment before sighing audibly and wading out to the Jet Ski. He slipped his gun strap around his torso and let the rifle rest against his back. Chloe reached one arm around his neck gratefully and reached into the waistband of her shorts with the other, her fist closing around the handle of the gun. He helped her to her feet and she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said seriously…and then hit him hard over the head with the barrel of the gun. He went down like a rock and she pulled his body quickly onto the shore, not really wanting him to drown if he didn't have to. She pulled his facemask off, trying to memorize his features—just in case.

She took his rifle and slung it over her shoulder, trying to quell down the feeling of nausea as she did so. She knew that they wouldn't get as lucky with the others.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lex stopped walking abruptly when the gunman in front of him came to a halt at the patio doors. "Where are Andy and the girl?" he demanded, looking around the beach for them. Lex looked too and noted immediately that everyone else was present and accounted for.

"They were right behind us," Clark's guy said with a shrug. The short man, the boss, nudged Lex towards the doors.

"Go back and check," he told Clark's guy, who nodded and disappeared behind the hedge of bushes again. They waited for a few minutes more, none of them coming back. "Oh, for…" the boss gestured for Lucas, Pete and Clark to join Lex on the deck. "Get up there would ya? I'll go and see what's wrong."

He slung his rifle over his shoulder and disappeared behind the bushes too, except _he_ reappeared a few seconds later, walking backwards with his hands in the air, his rifle still hanging uselessly across his back. Chloe stepped into view next, a rifle in each hand, and Lex suddenly knew what happened to the other two guards.

"Everyone put your guns down," she ordered the remaining three gunmen, not moving her gaze off of their boss. "Or you won't be getting a paycheck anytime soon."

"We'll get paid either way," Danny smirked. "Besides, I never really liked him anyway," he moved the barrel away from Pete and pointed his gun at Chloe. "Who do you think has the faster trigger finger?"

Suddenly, Pete elbowed Danny in the stomach just hard enough for him to double over. Pete snatched the gun and pointed it at his head. "_I_ do," Pete insisted. "Want to find out just how good I am?" Danny swallowed painfully and shook his head.

Lex wasn't even surprised when his gunman wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him back into his chest and holding the rifle barrel right to his temple. "Now we're done playing around little girl," he hissed at Chloe, his temper flaring. Lex had a sneaking suspicion that this was the guy who'd knocked her out earlier. "Let him go and maybe I won't blow a hole right through your boyfriend's head. How about that?"

Lex could feel his air supply growing short as the man's arm tightened around his neck, squeezing hard against his windpipe. He blinked several times, trying to focus his blurring vision, still gasping for air. "He can't breathe," Lex could hear Clark saying, though it sounded far away.

A familiar feeling washed over Lex, the one you get right before you black out, where the edges of your vision turn a black that starts to bleed inwards until you're unconscious. He caught Clark's gaze quickly and then his vision blurred completely. Just as he was about to succumb to it, he felt a scorching hot sensation against his temple for a fraction of a second. Just as quickly, the gunman dropped both him and the gun with a cry clutching at his hand, and Lex collapsed to the ground gasping and pressing a hand against his temple.

Before he had even had the chance to catch his breath Pete had moved the gun off of Danny and sent a bullet straight through the other man's head. Clark's captor stared in shock at his fallen coworker, and when Clark wrestled his gun away from him he put up no real fight.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Make sure you tie those ropes tight," Lex told Lucas and Clark, who were busy tying up the surviving gunmen on the couch. The man that they'd found unconscious on the beach was being tied up too, but the guy in the tree, the one on the porch, and the one they'd found dead on the beach beside the bushes were not there. "I'm going to call the police."

Chloe and Pete were sitting at the island, staring morosely at the gun that sat on the counter in front of them. Lex grabbed the cordless phone and sat down beside Chloe, not sure what to say. The three of them had each taken a life that night; what did you say in that situation. He made the call to the police, and then one to the driver service at the airport, figuring that they'd all like to go home now.

"How's your head?" Chloe asked him, reaching up and turning his cheek so she could see the red mark at his temple.

"It's okay," he assured her and she pulled her hand away. "Just a small burn."

"I wonder how you got burnt from the barrel of a gun that wasn't fired?" she muttered. Pete looked up now, discomfort marring the previous blank look on his face.

"Maybe it's a gun powder burn," Pete suggested weakly.

"Maybe," Chloe muttered, looking back down at the ceramic tiles on the countertop. Lex didn't say anything, it wasn't really the time, but he knew that the burn was not caused by gunpowder. He kept remembering the way that Clark had looked over at him, just before he'd fallen to the ground. Something didn't add up, but he didn't really feel like delving into that right now. Pete and Chloe were a mess and someone needed to stay calm.

"Are you two okay?" he asked instead. Pete shrugged and Chloe looked up at him blankly.

"I killed a man tonight Lex," she said. "_Another_ man. It isn't any easier this time."

"I know," Lex nodded solemnly and ran a hand over his head distractedly. Chloe sighed and reached across the table, taking Pete's hand in hers and laying her head down against her arm. Lex looked away quickly, noting the pained look on Pete's face, and seriously contemplating leaving them alone. But when Chloe's hand squeezed his underneath the counter top, he squeezed back tightly.

Lucas and Clark finished tying the men up and then came to join them at the island, sitting silently onto stools. "The police?" Lucas finally asked.

"On their way," Lex replied, setting the phone down beside the handgun that they'd found. Lucas nodded and seemed to have nothing else to say. They waited for the police to arrive.

_TBC… _


	5. Closer

**Closer **

Lex set his newspaper down on his desk and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. It was nice to be home, even if home was in Smallville. After the weekend that they'd just had he would be happy to move on and forget all about his birthday…at least until next year anyways.

A soft knock sounded at his office door, and the door swung open before he could answer. It was Chloe, dressed in her coffee cup pajamas…and she was carrying a package in her hands. "Hey," she greeted. "I know you're busy catching up on work, but I just wanted to give this to you before I go to bed. Can you believed I forgot it in my room for the whole weekend?"

Lex smiled at that, knowing that she had been so bombarded with plans the week before that it was a miracle that she'd remembered to pack anything. "So the Caymans were pretty much a bust," she sighed and sat down in the chair in front of his desk, crossing her legs and holding his gift on her lap. "Don't worry, next time I promise that your birthday party will consist of a few gifts and a really big cake…possibly with a pretty brunette hiding inside of it."

"It was nice of you to plan a party for me either way," he insisted, trying to hide how actually touched he had been at the gesture…even if everything did turn out to be a disaster. "I appreciate it."

"Yeah?" she asked with a mischievous grin. "Well just remember that _my_ birthday is March 5th. I wouldn't be opposed to Jude Law jumping out of my birthday cake either."

"I'll remember that," Lex smirked. He pushed the paper in her direction. "Have you seen today's Daily Planet headline?"

Chloe shook her head and picked up the paper. "Mob boss Dimitri Katz sentenced to serve fifteen years in state penitentiary; Governor Averman currently under investigation by FBI," she read. "Well good. Did they ever find out who the snitch was?"

"It was James Avery," Lex told her. "He'll be under investigation too, but that confession of his will help him get a much lighter sentence."

"Ah, yes," she dropped the paper. "It's nice to see that not all government officials look the other way…at least not all of the time. I wonder who will be the new governor?"

"They'll hold an election once this is all settled," Lex shrugged.

"Maybe you could run," she kidded. "You're very photogenic and I could write all of your press releases."

"If I ever do run for something you'll be the first one I call," he promised with a small smile. Chloe grinned back and they fell into a silence. After a few moments she shifted, a bit awkwardly, and rose to her feet again. She walked around the desk and forcefully handed him the package in her hands.

"I really am tired," she confessed. "I think I'm experiencing coffee withdrawal. Remind me never to do it again."

"Okay," he nodded, fingering the shiny paper and elaborate bow on the gift.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked. When he nodded she smiled again and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly. "Happy Birthday Lex." He allowed a small smile to drift over his face and hugged her back quickly. She pecked him on the cheek once and then was gone from the room before he even realized it.

Once the door had closed behind her he looked down at the package in his hands, wondering what it was. He shook it, feeling the weight of it, and figured that it must be a large book. Never being one of those 'saving the paper' kind of people, he deftly untied the bow and ripped the paper open, to reveal…a book. There was no title on the shiny new leather cover, nor on the spine, and the outside edges of the pages were lined in the same gold that collector's editions often came with.

Curious now, he opened the cover, hearing the familiar creaking noise that resulted the first time that you opened a brand new book. A note from Chloe was the first thing that he saw, tucked in between the publisher's information (he chose to ignore the watermarked Wayne Industries stamp) and the cover. He picked it up and read it.

_Lex,_

_Happy Birthday! _

_I really had no idea what to buy for the billionaire that has everything…so I had to get you an original. Trust me when I tell you that this is going to be a bestseller some day, and you'll own the first printed copy._

The book's incomplete now, and it still has a working title, because…well I guess you'll see why…

_Love Chloe_

He was intrigued now, just as she had probably intended him to be, and flipped forward to the title pages and dedication. "Corporate Prince: Alexander Luthor," he read quietly to himself. "A Complete Biography, by William Curtis." Lex blinked in surprise, knowing the author, before flipping quickly to the dedication page. "For Lex, so the world will always remember how Great he was, CS."

He turned to the chapter listings and smirked at the headings there. Chloe may not have actually written the book, but he had no doubt that she had a major influence in the content. He flipped forward to the last entry, just before the pages turned blank, and read the last paragraph that was printed there.

"At the age of only twenty three years, Lex Luthor came into power in one of the largest corporations in the continent. Even as the mighty Titan fell, and the Prince took power, the world watched in anticipation wondering if the son would outshine the father. There was no doubt as to the man's greatness, but only in which way would it present itself to the world…"

END.

_A/N: Okay everyone, that's the end of Episode 9…finally. I realize that the ending's a little campy, but try to keep in mind that the book was from Chloe, and that is how the Chloe in my universe sees Lex. Plus, I really just wanted to get it done. _

_A little preview for the next episode:_

_It's Halloween in Smallville, but don't go looking for a meteor-induced escapade…on All Hallows Eve the only thing that's affecting our favorite Smallvilleans is a little witchcraft… (duh, I know that was so lame)…_

* * *

* * *

* * *

And for those of you who want it, I've enclosed the Table of Contents that I scribbled out in an earlier version of the Closer, the one that Chloe would have written for Lex's book. It didn't really make sense to write it in the episode anymore, but I thought you might be interested.

_Table Of Contents_

_Chapter One Silver Spoons: The Luthor Empire_

_Chapter Two Meteor Capital: There's No Place Like Smallville_

_Chapter ThreeEducation System: Antics of a Bored Billionaire_

_Chapter FourHappy Birthday: Exile to Smallville_

_Chapter FiveLittle Green Rocks and Clark Kent_

_Chapter SixBlack Widows: Desire Atkins and Dr. Helen Bryce_

_Chapter SevenLittle Brother, Bigger Problems: Lucas Luthor_

_Chapter EightTrial and Errors: The Road to the Supreme Court_

_Chapter NineRise and Fall: Of a Titan and a Prince_

_To Be Completed…_

_Printed in Metropolis, KS. 2004_

_Copyright Wayne Industries_

_William Curtis_


End file.
